Finding the Path
by Mutant-Enemy-730
Summary: Post Matrix. REPOSTED AFTER EDITING. Sure, Neo now knows that he is the One, and Trinity knows that she loves him, but that doesn't mean figuring out how to live will be easy. Finished.
1. Author's Note

Original Word Count as of December 31, 2003: 50,215

Final Word Count as of February 21, 2005 (after 3 revisions): 50,228 (I know, big change)

Disclaimer: This is a fanfic, I trust people to be intelligent enough to know that this isn't originally mine.

Dedication: Wholesomelymid (LJ) for encouraging my writing to continue long after the Matrix spell wore off (Which it hasn't completely- I'm editing a few stories).

Author's Note: I am really proud of this fic, and I wanted to set some things straight, and more realistic in it, so I drafted rewrites over the course of a year, and now, I'm extremely proud of this fic.

Why this: I wrote this as a challenge: write 50,000 words in 31 days. I had been getting tired of writing fics post-Reloaded (before Revolutions had come out of course) and decided to write about what happened in the six months between TM1 and TM2. While I have since retired…I am editing most of my fics, and "Breaking the Rules" is being given the finishing touches right now before being reposted. So I hope you enjoy this, I know it's older, I wrote it almost two years ago, but I still view it as my crowning achievement. Thank you.

And so, for the first time, I give you a completely edited and updated fic.

Always, Trinity-the-Goalie


	2. Pain wrapped in love

How do you define a life-giving kiss? Only moments ago, Trinity had kissed Neo with all of her heart and soul- an act that brought him back to life. But now, after the EMP went off, Neo kissed her softly, gently, bringing her cold, hardened body to life after fifteen cold years. She could feel the energy coursing through her veins, the blood pumping in her head, her heartbeat speeding up. All of this was due to Neo's lips against hers. Amazing. Such a small act could create so many chemical reactions. _Fuck chemical reactions,_ was Trinity's last thought before focusing on Neo's hand on her neck and his lips pulling gently on her lower lip to end the fate-sealing kiss.

Electricity. That's the definition. Never before had Neo experienced this feeling, both of the heart and of the body. Just by touching Trinity in the simplest of ways sent an electrical charge through his body, leaving him craving more. As Trinity slowly pulled away, her eyes still locked on his own, Neo heard Morpheus and Tank come around the monitors.

"At last. You believe what I have been telling you all along, now, Neo?" Morpheus asked, a gentle smile gracing his face.

Neo merely nodded, desiring to be touched by Trinity again, but she had seemed to find his foot clamps more interesting as she undid them. Standing slowly, Neo let out a painful gasp before his knees buckled. As he began to sink to the floor, a strong pair of arms encircled his waist, pulling him to rest against their chest. Morpheus? No, he was just reacting to Neo's sudden weakening. Trinity. At the sudden realization, the electrical current that seemed to run between them shocked his body awake.

"Trinity, why don't you take him to his room?" Morpheus asked, his eyes taking in everything. "I'll tend to Tank."

Trinity merely nodded, emotions bubbling beneath her cool exterior, emotions screaming for a response, for her to take action. _Right now is not the time, for anything other than tending to Neo's injuries,_ Trinity reasoned, however, her body had a different agenda. Concentrating on half-carrying, half-walking Neo to his room, Trinity barely registered just how Neo had reacted to her strong grip. _He has definitely tensed up, but at the same time- melted,_ Trinity thought as she wrenched his door open.

Neo's mind was a throbbing ball of pain and emotions. A sensory overload of rejecting the Matrix and then kissing Trinity had given him the largest headache he'd ever experienced. _Though, now, if I really think about it- it's my first headache...oh fuck it, thinking about that is just going to make my head hurt even more._ Neo let out guttural groan from his throat as Trinity guided him to the bed where he stretched out. Trinity paused to look at his closed eyes for a moment before moving to the door.

"Wait." Neo's quiet request stopped Trinity dead- her hand resting on the doorframe. "Don't leave me. Please."

"I'll be right back. I'm just getting some medical supplies. I promise I won't be gone long." Trinity moved back into the room and crouched down as the last word dropped from her mouth. Lifting his hand to her lips, Trinity kissed it gently before standing and leaving.

"How's he doing?" Trinity asked upon entering the med lab.

"I'm doing fine. Do remember that I'm conscious." Tank interrupted before Morpheus had a chance to open his mouth.

"Not for long you won't be. You won't stand the pain when I begin to take care of your wounds, Tank. I have to knock you out." Morpheus countered, filling a syringe with a clear liquid. "How's Neo?"

"I'm not sure. I'm in here to get stuff to clean him up- and some pain relievers." Trinity replied as she moved around the room to gather a towel, a bowl of water, and a few other assorted objects up onto a large tray.

"Pain relievers are top shelf over there." Morpheus pointed to a shelf near where Trinity was standing.

"Got it. Thanks." Trinity nodded in the men's general direction before exiting the room, tray in hand.

As she walked silently down the hall, a random thought bounced into her head. _What if the machines send another group of sentinels?_ Shaking her mind of the not-so-absurd possibility for the time being, Trinity stopped at Neo's door to balance the tray on one hand while twisting the wheel with the other. Upon entering the room, Trinity placed the tray on the floor before closing the door behind her. Pulling a pillow she had grabbed in the med lab from under her arm, Trinity carefully lifted Neo's head and placed the pillow underneath it.

"Mmmm. Trin?" Neo mumbled quietly, half-asleep.

"Shhh. Just rest." Trinity replied softly, running a hand gently over his head.

Pausing a moment to watch Neo silently, Trinity couldn't help but fight within herself to both love him and not care at the same time. She knew it was a more basic fight between the woman and the soldier inside her. Unsurprisingly, the woman won. Kneeling down beside the bed, Trinity delicately pulled his shirt up, revealing a smooth, frail torso- and several dark bruises.

"Whoa, whoa. What are you doing?" Neo slowly sat up and grabbed Trinity's hands, trying to wake up.

"I was going to clean your bruises, put ice on them and give you some pain relievers, why?" Trinity explained, sitting back on her heels.

"I just- I'm sorry. I didn't know." Neo lay back down; releasing the grip on Trinity's wrists- something he did reluctantly.

Tensing upon feeling her fingers dance lightly across his chest, Neo exhaled a painful breath when she touched his bruises.

"What?" Trinity asked, concern intertwined with the question.

"The bruises." Neo explained.

"Sorry, I'll be more careful."

And so they continued like this for another five minutes- Trinity washing his chest lightly as Neo winced in pain- a pain that transcended him and hit her because she knew that she was causing it. When she finished, Trinity pulled Neo's shirt back down and proceeded to place ice wrapped in a small, tattered towel on his chest.

"Hold that there." Trinity commanded as she leaned over to grab an IV pouch.

Standing, Trinity hung the pouch on a small hook and took Neo's right arm in her hand. Feeling Neo's eyes on her, Trinity could tell he was struggling to keep himself from stopping her and silently thanked him- too tired to do anything but make sure he was in decent health before getting some rest herself. Carefully, Trinity pushed the needle into his plug- all the while completely aware of Neo's tensed body. Lowering his arm, she allowed herself a small smile.

"There, that should do it. Why don't you get some rest?" Trinity inquired as she picked up the tray.

"Where are you going?" Neo asked, suddenly fearful.

"I'm going to put this away and then I'm going to get some rest." Trinity answered as she moved to the door. "I'll be right next door anyway. If you need something, just rap on the wall- I'm a light sleeper."

"Okay." Neo's quiet reply went straight to Trinity's core, causing the strong soldier to falter for a moment to fight with warring emotions. The solider won, and she nodded once before exiting.


	3. Reasons for waking

Trinity awoke some time later to a muffled tapping coming from the wall that separated hers and Neo's rooms. Leaving her room to go investigate, Trinity grabbed an extra blanket to wrap around her shoulders. Upon entering Neo's room, Trinity felt for the wall lamp near the head of the bed. As she leaned down further, she could feel his warm breath near her collarbone. When her hand finally grasped the lamp's switch, Trinity jumped at the hand that silently covered hers.

Switching the light on, Trinity turned her head to face Neo's as he moved his own to look at hers. As they did this in unison, their noses lightly brushed against one another- sending a shock of electricity down both of their spines. Moving back suddenly, Trinity blinked- breaking the uninterrupted eye contact- but was again taken by surprise when Neo gently placed a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her face down to his. Trinity half-heard, half-felt, Neo's gasp as she moved her lips gently against his. Slipping her tongue out to trace his bottom lip, Trinity felt Neo softly suck on her top lip and pulled it with him slightly to end the kiss.

Eyes still closed- trying to place the sensations and feelings Neo had so easily provoked from her, Trinity spoke in a slightly ragged voice, "Was that what you woke me up for?"

Neo sensed no anger or resentment in her voice. Instead, dare he say it, let alone believe it, he heard a slight playfulness and even a bit of sarcasm in the tone of the question.

"Possibly." His answer caused him to pause at the sight of the arched eyebrow she gave him. "Yes. I just...I wanted to see what would happen."

"Satisfied with the results?" Trinity asked softly- again with a playful undertone in the inquiry.

"Definitely."

* * *

After Trinity had returned to her room, she had fallen into a dreamless sleep that left her feeling safe and warm instead of the usual cold and tense. Figuring it was due to the middle-of-the-night interlude she'd had with Neo, Trinity quickly went about getting ready. Buckling up her boots in record time, Trinity stood to stretch her arms above her head. Yawning, she turned around to fold up the blankets and place them at the end of the bed before exiting her room to check on Neo. Knocking lightly on the metal door before entering, Trinity couldn't stop the small smile from forming upon her face at the sight of a sleeping Neo.

Turning on her heel, Trinity left Neo's room in search of three things: Morpheus, food, and more painkillers. She climbed up the ladder to the core, and arrived at the med lab without so much as a thought to where her feet were taking her, Trinity quickly found another bag before turning to see Tank sleeping peacefully on the table- his side bandaged up and an IV in his arm. Returning to the ladder, Trinity glanced around her for Morpheus, before continuing on down towards the mess hall. Upon arriving on the crewmembers' floor, Trinity climbed off the ladder, only to almost walk into Morpheus.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." Trinity apologized, moving back a few steps.

"Quite all right. I wasn't really paying attention anyway. Too many things to think about." Morpheus smiled, an unobtrusive look gracing his features.

"Morpheus, I was wondering..." Trinity paused for her captain to turn and begin walking with her to the mess hall. "Do you think the machines would send another group of sentinels here if they never returned? It's just- they know where we are- what should stop them from sending out more to make sure we were eliminated?"

"Nothing except-" Morpheus paused in thought before continuing. "They are machines. They deal with a problem one bit at a time and then take action methodically. They do not move on to another piece of the problem until they have dealt with the first piece. My theory is that they believe that since they can create hundreds of thousands of sentinels, four or five won't be missed. The answer to their problem would be simple: the ship was taken out, all of the survivors eradicated, but only after the EMP switch was flipped."

"Oh. They really have simple thought processes, don't they?" Trinity asked as she hugged herself, the IV pouch under her arm.

"Do not for one second believe they are not intelligent, but yes, the way they deal with something is simple and elementary but- it works." Morpheus finished solemnly as he twisted the door to the mess hall open.

"What were you thinking about when I bumped into you?" Trinity asked offhand, changing the topic smoothly.

"Many things. Mostly about how to get out of here, Neo and what we'll do once we return to Zion." Morpheus explained, leaning against the wall as Trinity moved across the room to grab a tray and two bowls.

"Do you think they'll try to take him away from us?" Trinity asked, worry evident in her voice.

Morpheus paused for a moment, briefly surprised at Trinity expressing any emotion other than anger, before answering. "I don't see why they should. Many people don't believe in the prophecy- it's been so long since it was made and all. They'll probably make many inquiries- just enough to make Neo want to slam his head into a wall- before releasing us back up to broad cast level. By the way, how is he?"

Trinity hesitated, momentarily busying herself by placing two spoons on the tray before responding. "He's sleeping at the moment. His chest has retained a few bruises from the gunshot wounds. I'm keeping him as pain-free as possible without making him numb to the world. Other than that, I think he just wants company- so I was going to visit him occasionally when I had a break from working on the ship."

"That's good to hear- that's he's decently healthy. I agree- you should visit him, no one on this ship that's not under enough drugs to stay unconscious for an extended period of time should be left alone for long."

"Speaking of unconscious crewmates, when's Tank going to wake up?" Trinity asked, lifting a mug of metallic water to her lips.

"Not for at least thirty-six hours. Is that for you and Neo?" Morpheus lifted a hand, gesturing to the tray.

"Yeah. I was going to bring it to him now." Trinity put the mug on the tray and proceeded to pick it up.

"All right. When he's settled and you've finished your breakfast, I'll meet you in the core." Morpheus smiled gently, ending the conversation.


	4. Forcing open the issue

"Neo? Are you awake?" Trinity asked softly upon reentering his room- food in hand.

"Yeah." Neo sleepily replied, blinking his eyes open.

Trinity smiled at the vision before her- Neo with heavy eyelids, looking half asleep- before asking gently, "How are you feeling?"

"Better. My head doesn't hurt anymore."

"And your chest?"

"Throbbing." Neo smiled weakly despite the strength in his eyes.

"Well, I brought you some breakfast. Special of the day." Trinity added, trying to gain a reaction from him.

She was not disappointed. Neo arched an eyebrow in mockery before a slight smirk graced his face. "Hmm, I bet there were so many choices of cuisine to choose from." Lifting the bowl to his face, he smelled it. "So the special of the day is runny eggs?"

"Not hard to figure out, is it?" Trinity replied, her smile widening. She had long since given up on pushing down the emotions that were so desperately trying to be expressed. Happiness and exuberance were for once not being suppressed- were for once actually desiring to be conveyed- and Trinity allowed them to be, both in her smile and in her eyes. She knew that as much as she needed this- needed warmth and love in her life- she still had just lost four crewmembers, and she knew that it would be out of place to act as if none of the sadness and pain had affected her. So she kept her emotions in check- however strongly they fought for her to just let go and feel for once.

"It's food. I guess I should just be glad to be eating." Neo replied before taking a few bites.

"I guess so." Trinity suddenly felt a strong need to eat, and picked up her own spoon.

Several minutes passed in silence as they ate- Neo on his bed, Trinity sitting on the floor. When Neo had swallowed the last bite, he glanced down to watch Trinity place her bowl on the tray before looking at him, a silent question in her eyes. Understanding, Neo handed her his bowl, hoping to get another touch from her hand in the process. Disappointed when Trinity gripped the bowl from the other side, Neo pulled his hand back and proceeded to try to sit up, but only ended up gasping in pain.

"Let me help you." Trinity stood and moved over towards him. Slipping a hand under his shoulders, Trinity lifted him as she adjusted the pillows to allow for a more comfortable sitting position.

"Thanks." Neo's gratitude sounded genuine to Trinity's well-trained ears, causing her resolve to slip yet another notch. It seemed that as of late, Neo had been able to somewhat crumble the walls she had built around her heart and emotions- and with next to no effort.

At this sudden realization, Trinity straightened up before lifting the tray. "I-I should go. We need to start fixing this ship up enough to fly or at least- send out an SOS for the closest ship to help us."

Neo's confusion at Trinity's sudden change of attitude unnerved him, but only caused his resolve to show her love to strengthen. "I'll help."

"No. Neo- you need to rest. After everything that happened yesterday, you need the most rest out of all of us." Trinity calmly replied, crushing all ideas of his getting out of bed. Taking one last look at the rather aggravated look on his face before leaving, Trinity couldn't help but feel both sorry and aggravated also. Sorry because he was basically an invalid and aggravated because they really needed all of the help they could get.

* * *

"Shit." Trinity cursed quietly- _one whole hour down the drain now that the fucking socket blew._ Moving around to wriggle out from underneath one of the many engines on the ship, Trinity saw a pair of boots approaching. Standing on numb feet, Trinity wiped her hands on a rag before glancing in surprise at the man before her.

"Neo, what the hell are you doing out of bed?" Trinity moved forward, gripping his shoulders- and finding that he welcomed the support.

Pulling him to her body to keep him from falling, Trinity could do nothing but take Neo's silence as her answer. Sighing in submission to the fact that he just wouldn't listen when given an order- even for his own health- Trinity helped lead him back to his room.

After sitting him back on his bed, Trinity again turned to leave, but was stopped.

"Wait. I-I came out to see you." Neo explained quietly, watching, as Trinity froze mid-step and turned around.

"Why? You know I'd come to check up on you in a little while." Trinity couldn't help enjoying the warmth spreading through her veins at the statement.

"I didn't-couldn't wait that long." Neo answered, his face gaining a reddish hue. Running a hand over his scalp, Neo lifted his eyes to meet Trinity's gaze.

"Neither did I, but as soldiers, sometimes what we want to do isn't the same thing as what we have to do." Trinity slowly sat down next to him, her eyes on the wall opposite them, unfocused, as if in thought.

"Are we always soldiers?" Neo inquired softly.

"You mean, is there ever a time when we can throw our duties to the wind and just be free to live the way we want?" Trinity asked back. Off of Neo's nod, "Yes. For a glorious 30 hours."

"When?" Neo's shocked question didn't surprise Trinity; most newly unplugged people were amazed at this truth.

"In Zion. When we're off duty."

"Oh. Are we going there?" Neo turned his face towards hers and looked into her eyes. One would say looking into a person's eyes when they are unguarded is like taking a glance at their heart. Neo had never believed that until this exact moment.

Trinity broke the gaze, her eyes looking down at the floor, "Eventually. We need the ship to be in working order first. Once she can be flown, we'll send out a SOS call to make sure we can get home since we have no protection from another sentinel attack. Our ship has lost too much power to even attempt another EMP, let alone use the gun turrets."

"Gun turrets?"

"Every ship has at least two, but usually four, gun turrets where a crewmember mans each gun to fire at sentinels. It's a back up plan to the EMP. We almost never use our turrets." Trinity explained tiredly causing Neo to figure he wasn't the first to ask that question.

"Why not?"

"About five years ago, we had a man named Forrest on board. We were using the turrets to hold off about eight sentinels because Morpheus was still inside the Matrix. Well, one gun misfired and Forrest was killed. After that, Morpheus didn't trust the turrets and decided that we hide from sentinels as much as possible and try to only use the EMP."

"I'm sorry." Neo placed his hand over Trinity's, gripping it tightly. Trinity glanced down at his hand before interlacing their fingers together.

"I didn't know him that well. It seems that as the years since I'd been freed grew longer, I became more and more detached from the crew. I separated myself, using my higher rank as a smokescreen for the truth." Trinity's eyes locked with Neo's as she began to finally open up.

"What truth?" Neo asked carefully, hoping he wouldn't scare her away from talking about her past.

"That I was afraid that every new crewmember could be the One and that my strength as a soldier would crumble due to some fucked up prophecy saying I'd love him. I was afraid because I didn't want to meet him and love him because I was told it would happen. I wanted to love him not for his title, but for his humanity. I was afraid because when you came along, I did fall in love with you- against all promises I had made about not succumbing to such a feminine emotion."

"It's not an emotion specified to either sex, Trinity. It's not really an emotion at all actually." Neo replied, love entwined with each word.

"Then what is it?" Trinity asked, confusion gracing her face.

Neo sighed before answering. "You can't stop love from taking control of you; it's not some subject where you can draw a line down the middle of the page. It's not that simple. It's not complicated either. Rather, it's a feeling, and the only thing you can do is let it be felt."

"I want to feel it, but-we're soldiers. We shouldn't be-" Trinity's argument was cut short when Neo covered her lips with his own.

Gasping in surprise, Trinity felt Neo's tongue touch her bottom lip- as if tasting it- before retreating back to his mouth. Trinity's struggle ended when Neo broke away enough to speak, but close enough for the breath from his words to tickle her cheek. "Stop fighting. You can be both a soldier and a woman." Trinity's eyes closed as Neo's lips again touched hers, sending warmth shooting through her entire body. God how she wanted to stop fighting, and Neo was giving a moving defense with his mouth at the moment...Trinity's thoughts slipped through her mind, not really being acknowledged as she experienced the full range of sensations kissing the mouth of the man she loved could generate from her. Nipping at his lower lip to end the kiss, Trinity pulled back, slightly breathless.

"Whoa." Trinity smiled softly at Neo's comment.

"Exactly what I was thinking." Trinity's eyes suddenly became wider as she realized just how long she'd been in Neo's room. "Oh shit, I need to go up to the core- Morpheus needed help rewiring the computers! I'll-I'll be back later." Trinity quickly stood, mad at her forgetfulness.

"With dinner?" Neo asked with a tinge of sarcasm.

Trinity turned to give him a look before responding, "Another special of the day."

"Ooooh, I can't wait."


	5. Comfortable conversation

There isn't much you can do on a ship when you're ordered to stay in bed. Counting the number of bolts doesn't really entertain you as much as make you fall asleep. Waking from a light slumber at the sound of his door opening, Neo watching in silence as Trinity came in- a tray of food balanced on one hand.

"Did you sleep well?" Trinity asked as she handed Neo a bowl.

"Yeah. How long were you working out there?" Neo smiled in thanks as he took a bite of food.

"About ten hours. I worked five hours nonstop, took a short nap to reenergize, checked in on you, ate lunch and worked for another five hours. Needless to say, I'm exhausted." Trinity told him as she sat down next to his legs on the bed, a bowl in her hands.

"Ten hours? Shit. Are you going to bed right after this?" Neo inquired, concern evident in his voice.

"Ugh, I don't even feel like moving, let alone return the dishes to the mess hall and then go to my room."

"Then..." Neo trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand- his expression of nervousness.

"Then what?" Trinity asked softly. "Neo, then what?"

"Why don't you just stay here tonight? With me." Trinity heard the tremor in his voice and couldn't help feeling touched by the offer. Unfortunately, her rational mind was in control.

"Neo, the bed is too small. We'd have to practically lie on top of one another to fit."

Neo paused a moment before replying. "Are you always going to be this apprehensive?" The question was coming directly from his newfound confidence and pushed the "I believe you can go to hell" part of Trinity to desire to surface. But- _he's right. I love him. I can't keep trying to run from the one thing that makes me want to live in this world. Even if this is a war, I can't lie to myself- or him for that matter- if I want to survive._

"No, I'm sorry, I just- for so long I've been cold and unemotional. When you came into my life, I felt all of these new emotions and I was scared of what they could mean. I know now that if I want to survive this war, I have to trust my heart and ignore my head on occasion." Trinity explained, sighing as she put her now unappetizing food on the floor.

"Only on occasion?" Neo asked, a smile on his face as he put his empty bowl next to hers.

Trinity eyed him before answering. "When I'm off duty with you."

"Are you off duty now?"

Trinity smirked. "Yeah."

"Good. Why don't you get some rest then?" Neo watched as Trinity suppressed a laugh before becoming serious once again.

Neo held a hand out as Trinity slowly reclined next to him. Turning on his side to keep from hurting his chest, Neo draped an arm over Trinity's waist before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Trinity awoke to warm breath against her neck and an arm over her hip- fingers interlaced with her own. They had apparently not moved too much in the night. She was quite sure his arm was further up when she fell asleep and that their hands weren't clasped together. _Why does it matter? I'm not about to deny that I'm not enjoying this, right now. All that matters is right now._ Shifting slightly, Trinity felt one of Neo's legs slide between hers before Neo lifted his head, eyes groggy with sleep.

"Morning, did you sleep well?"

"Yes. It's the first time since I can remember where I wasn't cold the entire night." Trinity replied.

"Me too." Neo leaned over enough to cause Trinity to figure, _he probably wants to look me in the face_, and she turned onto her back. Taking in the face inches above her, Trinity parted her lips in anticipation as Neo lowered his head to hers.

Relaxing instantly into the kiss, Trinity moved her lips against Neo's, noticing for the first time that there was a fire burning within her whenever they kissed. Parting her lips, Neo tested the waters as he probed with his tongue. Neither had kissed openly like this before and the others' tongue seemed a bit foreign, but Trinity couldn't deny the pleasurable sensations and only desired more. Wrapping an arm over his neck, Trinity pulled Neo's body onto her own, pressing herself into him. Moving her leg slightly to allow one of his to drop next to it, Trinity let out a surprised gasp as she felt just how much Neo was turned on at the moment.

Neo pulled away slightly, allowing heavy breaths to mingle with the taste of the other on their lips. Opening her eyes, Trinity found Neo studying her face.

"What?" she asked softly, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Nothing, you'll just laugh." Neo smiled, shaking his head.

"I promise I won't."

Neo gave her a look, judging the statement before yielding. "I was just thinking about how beautiful you look when your face is flushed, your hair slightly disheveled and your lips parted after kissing. It's kind of corny, I know but-"

"I could say the same for you. Except for the hair part." Trinity smiled softly, running a hand over Neo's nearly baldhead.

"I like this." Neo suddenly stated.

"What?" Trinity inquired, not quite sure what he was talking about.

"Waking up with you. Until two days ago, I never would've thought I'd have a chance with you." Neo answered as he trailed his fingers down the side of her face. "To tell you the truth, I thought you were an amazingly beautiful enigma that walked into my life and turned it upside down by just speaking to me about the Matrix when I met you."

"And now?"

"I think you're an amazingly beautiful enigma that walked into my life and gave me a reason to believe." Neo replied, then quieter, "I love you for that."

Trinity felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes, but blinked them away.

"You made me come alive. So I guess we're even." Trinity smiled gently before pulling him down against her, letting him rest his head above her heart.


	6. Neo's abilities

"Morpheus, the engine is shot, there is no way we can start her up." Neo informed the captain on break in the mess hall. It had been six days since, well, since everything. The remaining four crewmembers were all up and about. The two recovering men were doing less work than Trinity and Morpheus were- much to Neo's disappointment- but he was just happy to be out of his room.

"Are you sure?" Morpheus asked, a look of frustration on his face.

"We used the EMP when the ship was on, thus no working engine. The only things that do work around here are the computers if we use the back up power. If we use it, then maybe we could make a drop inside the Matrix. Someone would be bound to find it." Tank added.

"Do we have enough power for that? Going into the Matrix, I mean." Neo inquired, turning to face Tank.

"We should. The back up power wasn't on when we used the EMP." Trinity answered from her position on the countertop.

"Then let's do it. We can't waste anymore time- not when we don't have any protection from an attack." Morpheus stood to leave, the others quickly following.

* * *

"Okay, so what do you guys want?" Tank asked once both Neo and Trinity were loaded into the Construct.

"Guns, a black Ducati for both of us, a motorcycle program for Neo and a small package to put the information in for the drop." Trinity replied before Neo even had a chance to open his mouth.

Looking at Trinity for a moment, Neo took a step backwards as the motorcycle program uploaded into his brain. Blinking a few times when it finished, Neo slowly refocused his eyes on Trinity.

"Thanks." He commented sarcastically.

* * *

"Where's the drop?" Trinity asked into her cell phone upon arriving in an abandoned gas station.

"Two blocks south, southwest, on the corner of Decker and Main. Oh and try not to gain too much attention along the way. We do not need trouble right now." Tank answered punching a few buttons.

"I'll keep that in mind." Trinity shut the phone and put it in her coat pocket before kick starting the motorcycle. "You ready?"

Neo looked at her through his dark shades before starting his motorcycle also. "Yeah. Let's go."

Driving slowly out of the back of the station, Trinity slowed down for Neo to catch up to her before changing gears and flooring it out of the parking lot. They wove as one in and out of traffic, avoiding cops and accidents before arriving at the drop point. Trinity put the kickstand down and got off while Neo waited patiently for her. Walking over to the mailbox, Trinity waited for an older man to put his letters into the slot before dropping her box. As she returned to where Neo was waiting, she allowed herself a small breath of relief. _Help will come soon._

"That was painless, why can't all-" Neo's comment was cut off when he saw the look in Trinity's eyes as she looked over his head. "What is it?"

"Two agents. I'm not sure if they've seen us, but if we drive out of here now, they definitely will. If we just sit here, we most likely won't escape a confrontation." Trinity answered, eyes still on the men across the street.

"Well, maybe that'd be good, then I'd be able to test my abilities." Neo shrugged his shoulders.

"Neo," Trinity shifted her gaze to his glasses. "We have no clue what you can do. For all we know, that could've been a one-time deal. I don't want to risk your life again anytime soon."

"We won't know what I can do until I try. You of all people should understand that."

If Neo could see behind Trinity's glasses, he would see a pair of smoldering eyes. "Do not use my choices to tell you how I felt as an example. Different circumstances."

"No, Goddammit! It's the same fucking circumstances!" Neo's voice had risen slightly, anger boiling beneath the surface. "Them, you here, and my abilities. How can I fulfill a prophecy if I'm not even allowed to find out what I'm capable of?"

Trinity opened her mouth to speak, but shut it abruptly when she noticed that the agents were coming towards them. "Neo, drive. Go!" Screaming the words into his ear as she jumped on behind him and snaked her arms around his midsection, Neo changed gears and gunned it, doing a 180 before flooring.

Pulling a gun out, Trinity aimed it at one of the pursuing agents- missing every shot, but it slowed him down. Neo cut sharply to the right, almost throwing Trinity off as one of the agents lunged himself at the pair.

"Neo!" Trinity yelled as she was ripped off of the bike. Neo squealed to a stop before turning and seeing Trinity hauled into a black car- the same as the one he had been put in before his unplugging. Flipping open his cell phone, Neo speed dialed Tank.

"You better have an exit ready when I call next time!" Neo didn't wait for an answer before speeding up to follow the car.

Weaving through traffic, Neo had several close calls before he was close enough to train a gun on the wheels of the agents' car. One shot blew out the back right tire; another blew out the front right. A third shot, taken once Neo had moved over to the left side of the car, missed as Agent Brown swung the car to hit him. Swerving into oncoming traffic, Neo speed up and weaved back next to the black car. Firing again, he shattered the driver's side window and kept shooting until he saw the green electricity of a dead host. The car swerved around before it slammed into a parked van. The left side door opened to reveal Agent Jones holding Trinity, a gun at her temple.

"Follow me Mr. Anderson if you would like her to live." Jones backed up into the closest building, sending passersby scattering.

"Let her go." Neo clenched his fists, anger seeping into his voice.

"No." Agent Brown answered, coming in behind Neo. Neo spun around only to have a fist collide with his face.

"Neo!" Trinity yelled, struggling to free herself from the iron grasp.

Recovering, Neo shook his head before advancing. Almost every punch he made connected, and as Brown attacked back, the fight seemed almost like child's play. Slamming a fist into Brown's face, shattering his glasses, Neo dropped to the floor and swung his foot out, tripping up Brown. Flipping up and over his sprawled body, Neo landed and stuck a foot underneath the agent before lifting it with ease, flipping the agent into the far wall. Moving forward, Neo slammed two fists into Brown's stomach before an upper cut into his jaw- causing a sickening crunch of bone shattering to be heard. Pulling a gun out from his jacket, Neo fired it once into the agent's head before turning.

Jones took the gun from Trinity's head and leveled it at Neo, firing off the entire clip. Neo stuck his hand out in front of him and stopped the clip before allowing the bullets to drop to the floor. Taking a step forward, Neo lifted his gun and fired it once, hitting the wall. The shot wasn't for nothing however, since the movement Jones had to make to dodge the bullet allowed Trinity to back flip over him and slam a foot into his back. Jones stumbled forward to meet a roundhouse kick into his face from Neo, knocking him unconscious.

"Can we go now?" Trinity asked, taking a deep breath.

Neo flipped open his phone. "Tank?"

"Cuisine building across the street."

"Got it." Neo shut the phone and grasped Trinity's hand. "Come on."


	7. Fury vs Fear

"Are you two all right?" Morpheus asked the moment the pair was out.

"Yeah." Neo replied while Trinity nodded.

Trinity turned to Neo, "We need to talk." Before standing and leaving an open mouthed Morpheus to stare at her back. Neo quickly got up, following her out.

"Neo-" Morpheus began.

"I'll speak with you later." Neo cut him off as he left, then under his breath, "Much later."

Climbing down the ladder above Trinity, he slid into her room just after she entered and shut the door.

"I told you we shouldn't have confronted them, Neo! What the hell were you thinking?" Trinity began, her voice low.

"What, you thought you'd get out of two agents' grasp all by yourself?" He shot back.

"I can take care of myself."

"I could seriously tell. Which part more so? When you were thrown into the car or when he was holding a gun to your head?" Neo spat back, fury laced with his words.

"You son of a-" Trinity began, but was cut off.

"You finish that. Go ahead. I dare you." Neo took a step closer. Trinity backed up only to press against the back wall. Realizing she was out of space, Trinity raised her chin in a challenge.

Neo stopped a moment, and Trinity suddenly saw the fear and pain in his eyes attempting to be masked by the anger in them. _He was so afraid for me that he's angry._ The sudden realization broke something inside of Trinity, something she had been trying to keep locked up. She needed him, and more than she was willing to allow. Sighing in both surrender and frustration, Trinity moved slowly towards him, keeping their eyes locked. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"God Neo, I'm so sorry." Trinity inhaled his scent as she buried her face in his neck.

Neo lowered his head to her shoulder as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I could've lost you in there. I was so afraid. And the fact that you didn't trust my abilities-"

"I trusted them, I just...I was afraid of you getting hurt. It doesn't matter how strong, fast or invulnerable you are in the Matrix, Neo, I'll still fear for your safety. I can't help it." Trinity pulled back to look into his eyes.

"I know. The same goes for me when it comes to you, and I know you probably don't like a person worrying over your safety, but you don't have much choice in the matter." Neo rested his forehead against hers.

"We're in this deep now, aren't we? Together." Trinity moved her head against his, brushing their noses together for a moment.

"I think so." Neo replied, his voice quiet, breath slightly ragged. Feeling her breath on his cheek for a moment before capturing her lips with his own, Neo expressed his fears physically.

Lowering his hands down to the small of her back, Neo pulled Trinity closer as she let out a soft whimper. Lips sliding under each others, hands trying desperately to feel the reality of the situation, Neo and Trinity both understood that their two separate lives would align and conjoin- no matter their feelings on the matter. Pulling softly on Neo's bottom lip, Trinity felt his tongue on her top lip before she pulled away. Neo looked at her slightly puzzled as she sat down on the bed and began to unbuckle her boots. Quickly sitting down next to her to take off his boots also, Neo was hit with a sudden thought, _My God; this is going to be a totally different Trinity from what I'm used to._ Before he could really think about the definite change in personality Trinity would undergo, her lips were on his, kissing away his thoughts.

Trinity slowly pushed Neo down onto the bed, a hand sliding down his torso. She knew she was in unknown territory. She had no clue what to do, and yet, one thing Neo had told her stuck in her head at the sudden wave of fear- "Let it be felt." Smiling at the thought, Trinity felt Neo's lips trail down her neck slowly. Kissing the hollow in her neck before finding a sensitive spot she hadn't even known about right above her collarbone, Trinity squirmed as Neo exploited the new knowledge. Kissing his temple, Trinity pulled his lips back to her own as her fingers grasped the hem of his tattered shirt.

Neo paused mid kiss as Trinity pulled the shirt over his head. Tossing the shirt to the floor, her fingers came to rest gently on the almost completely healed bruises. Neo looked down at them too for a moment before lifting her chin.

"I'll be fine."

Neo softly kissed her jaw before his own hands found the end of her shirt and slowly began to pull it up. As his fingers grazed against the taut skin of her abdomen, Trinity took a sudden gasp of air. Sliding his hands around to her back, he pushed the shirt up to her arms- where Trinity helped pull it off before almost letting out a laugh as Neo kissed the plugs above her breasts. Neo's hands fell to her waist as he brought his face back up to hers. Stopping mid kiss as he slid her pants down to her lower thighs, Trinity pushed them off before helping him follow suit with his own. As naked skin of one body pressed against naked skin of the other, all rational thoughts evaporated from both minds.

Fear of not being good was forgotten as they leaned into the others touch. A caress of the hip brought Neo into her, love practically dripping off of him in his sweat. Neither had noticed that the room was much warmer now than when they had first come in. Moving against each other in a perfect rhythm, an observer of this passionate act could say that two worlds were crashing into each other and melding perfectly in the process. Low moans mixed with stuttered gasps as the energy that the pair had felt coursing through their veins since Neo's resurrection exploded, sending them over the edge of oblivion.

* * *

"How are they doing?" Tank asked from his seat at the table in the mess hall.

"Well, I went by to see if they had ripped their heads off yet, but I didn't find them in Neo's room." Morpheus began. "But, I did hear some interesting sounds from Trinity's."

"Interesting as in punches?" Tank asked, concerned.

"Interesting as in moaning, and not the painful type either." Morpheus sat down opposite the operator, watching the expression on the others face.

"Oh." A pause, then it hit him. "Oh! Wow. Wait, you mean-?" Tank trailed off, getting a nod from Morpheus. "Oh my God. Trinity? And Neo? Holy shit. I- I think I need a drink..."

"Your brother's liquor is down in the engine room." Morpheus informed him as Tank got up to leave. As Tank paused at the door, Morpheus quickly apologized. "I'm sorry Tank, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. I know. It's just, you live with someone for your whole life and then one day, they're ripped from you. It's not fair, but it's war." Tank stated before leaving.

"Yes, it is." Morpheus answered after Tank had left.

* * *

Trinity awoke slowly, as if from a soft, dreamy haze. Stretching her arm out, she let it drop carefully onto Neo's bare chest. As she recalled the events of the night before, Trinity shifted her head, nudging it up against Neo's chin, and tried to stretch her legs, but only ended up pushing herself up against Neo even more- something that quickly woke him up. Smiling gently into his chest as she felt his heart rate speed up, Trinity slide a leg that was already precariously perched on Neo's thigh in between his legs.

Neo breathed softly into the mess of raven black hair. He never wanted to move, but knew that it was inevitable. _Ha, look at me, quoting Smith._ Shuddering at the thought, Neo felt Trinity look up in curiosity.

"You cold?"

"No. Just- remembering Smith. Some of the things he said." Neo replied softly, shifting his grip around the lithe –_my God it's actually lithe!_ - form half on and half off of him.

"What'd he say?" Trinity asked, moving an arm to the right of his head to hold her own above his.

"You can't read what we say in coding?" Neo's face was incredulous- a typical reaction for someone so recently unplugged.

"No. We can see your reaction to something said, and even watch your mouth move, but we don't know what you're saying. Same thing as we can't hear a punch, or a gunshot. The coding doesn't emit sound, just sight." She explained automatically, as if she had memorized the answer from a sheet of paper.

"Oh, so say I scream at the top of my lungs. You don't read what I say from the coding?"

Trinity shook her head 'no'.

"Why not?"

"Because- it has something to do with how words and sound can't be written in three dimensional form and since that's not plausible, it can't be shown in the coding. I'm not really sure. I just know that you can't see or hear what you say. Just that you are in fact saying something because we can read your mouth moving." Trinity replied, shifting atop him slightly.

"Okay." Neo paused a moment, thinking. "Do you know what time it is?"

Trinity smiled gently at the change of topic before replying. "Early morning, roughly. We got back from the Matrix around eight, Matrix time. And we were awake here for slightly under an hour. Given that time, I usually wake up around seven. But I was exhausted-" Trinity stopped briefly at the grin that spread across Neo's face before continuing, "-afterwards, so we could've slept longer."

"You ever been exhausted before?" the question seemed to scream "sex", but Trinity pretended to think about it before responding.

"Physically? Yes, quite often." Pausing to watch his face fall slightly. "Mentally? Every other day." Again, a pause to watch the smile almost completely disappear. "Sexually? Never. At least, not until last night."

Neo couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he pulled Trinity down to touch his lips against hers. Kissing her softly, Neo trailed his fingers up her spine, causing her to arch into the touch. Sighing against her lips, Neo was suddenly brought back to reality when a sharp knock came at the door. Opening his mouth to speak, Neo quickly found Trinity placing a hand over him, silencing him.

Clearing her throat, Trinity called out, "What?"

"Trinity, it's another day in the real world, time to get up! Are you going to get Neo up too?" Tank called from the other side.

Trinity could almost hear the sarcasm in the question. "Yes, I'll get him up."

As the sound of Tank's boots faded away, Trinity turned her face back to Neo's.

"Time to get up."


	8. Niobe, meet the One

"All right, we are going to send you two back into the Matrix. We received a message from the Logos late last night to meet us." Morpheus informed the pair once they had sat down to their breakfast.

"How come you didn't wake me for a night shift?" Trinity asked, momentarily forgetting how lucky she'd been that she wasn't.

"Well, I decided not to after I found that Neo had not slept in his room." The captain replied, watching in amusement at the expressions on his second-in-command and the One's faces.

"Oh." _Where was a trap door when you wanted one?_ Neo thought, feeling the burning on his neck. "Well-"

"No need to explain, Neo. At least, not right now. I will need to talk to the two of you before we arrive in Zion, however." Morpheus waved his hand, dismissing the explanation from being spoken. "When you two are done, I'll meet you in the core."

Neo and Trinity looked at each other once he had left before quickly finishing their food and exiting. Arriving shortly thereafter in the core, Neo and Trinity set up their respective chairs and plugged in. Trinity looked around her as she materialized in a shut down café, Neo next to her. Picking up the ringing pay phone, Tank gave her the directions to the meeting place before disconnecting the call.

"Come on, it's right down the block." Trinity turned and walked out the door, not waiting for Neo to catch up with her.

Trinity paused outside, giving Neo the time to slide up next to her. Moving as one, Neo and Trinity strode down the sidewalk, eyes scanning the crowd for agents. It had become almost routine for Trinity, but was something Neo was just adjusting to: _If you want to survive in the Matrix, you have to cover your ass at all times, no matter how serene the surroundings are- or seem to be._ As they turned the corner, Trinity nudged Neo in the side, before gesturing to the sitting Niobe and Ghost across the street at the café.

As they sat down, Niobe didn't waste any time before beginning.

"What the hell happened to you guys?"

"Long story. We'll go into the details when you come and get us. Right now, all we can tell you is that we had a sentinel attack and we were unable to turn off the ship's power before throwing the EMP." Trinity quickly explained.

"All right. What are your coordinates?" Niobe leaned back slightly as Trinity pulled a sheet of paper out of her jacket and placed it on the table. Niobe picked it up and glanced at it a moment before handing it to Ghost. "We'll be there in about thirty minutes."

"Can you try to get there as fast as possible? We have no way of protecting ourselves from another sentinel attack, should one occur." Neo asked quietly.

Niobe and Ghost cast a glance at each other and then Trinity before Niobe spoke.

"May I ask just why this newbie is-" Before she could finish however, Trinity cut her off.

"This newbie just so happens to be-"

"Trinity, why don't we save this conversation for the Neb?" Neo interrupted softly.

Ghost and Niobe both watched in silent amazement as Trinity didn't glare at the newbie or even deck him but instead nodded her head in agreement.

"Right. We'll see you when you get there."

As the pair stood and left in unison, Ghost turned to Niobe. "Trinity seems much more tranquil around him than anyone else I've ever known."

"I agree. It is most unlike her to allow someone that isn't ranked higher than her to be able to interrupt her without a price to be paid. I wonder what makes this guy so special?" Niobe gazed at the retreating backs of the tall, black clad soldiers.

"Maybe she likes him." Ghost glanced at Niobe for a moment, catching the look of shock that graced her face before he smiled softly, almost sadly.

* * *

"How long until they arrive?" Morpheus asked once Neo and Trinity were both safely back on the Nebuchadnezzar.

"She said about half an hour. Oh and Morpheus," Trinity paused before he could completely turn away. "I think you're going to have to tell her about Neo. They are wondering why I didn't flatten him to the ground when he interrupted me."

"Well, I guess we can't keep it to ourselves, no matter how much we may want to protect him."

"Hello? I'm standing right here. Protect me from what?" Neo asked, sliding in next to Trinity.

"Zion." Morpheus answered simply.

"Zion? But, aren't they the human's last city? I should have no problem there, right? Right?"

"Well, no. The fact that you exist is going to cause the doctors and council to closely scrutinize you. Many people will worship you, while others will scoff at your every move. Needless to say, you won't be able to find peace immediately." Morpheus explained, sighing sadly.

"They may even try to take you from us." Trinity added.

"I won't let that happen, not if I can help it." Morpheus answered, looking straight at Neo.

"Neither will I!" Tank yelled from the console, causing the rest of the crew to laugh.

* * *

"Captain Morpheus, I see you've had a rough time of it." Niobe commented upon sitting down in the mess hall with the remaining crew. "Can I gather what happened?"

"Probably not. Cypher betrayed us all. After Neo was unplugged, he sold me to the agents and killed Switch, Apoc, Dozer, and had cops kill Mouse. The only reason I'm standing here at all is because of Neo and Trinity, and the only reason Neo's standing here is because Trinity told him that the Oracle said she would love the One. She proclaimed that she loved him, so he had to be the One. A short but direct explanation, but if you would like a more in-depth one, you may ask either one of them, preferably if the other is within hearing distance." Morpheus paused for a moment, allowing the information to sink in.

Trinity squirmed under the sudden scrutiny both Sparks and Ghost were giving her and then Neo. Niobe rose slowly before holding out her hand to Neo. Neo looked at it for a moment before shaking it.

"Captain Niobe of the Logos. This is my crew, second-in-command Ghost, and Sparks, our operator."

"I'm Neo." Trinity nudged Neo in the ribs. "The One."

"Nice to meet you Neo." Niobe smiled tightly before turning her attention back to Morpheus. "So, where do we start?"

* * *

"I think we should be able to attach a cable to the Neb. If we give you a bit of our stored power, we should be able to bring you into Zion without causing any further damage to the hull." Niobe mused, leaning on one of the chairs in the Nebuchadnezzar's core.

"We'll transfer anything that is absolutely necessary to keep with us until our arrival at Zion." Morpheus agreed with a nod of his head. "Once we're on our way, Neo, Trinity, I would like to have a word with the two of you." Morpheus glanced at the pair before standing and exiting down the ladder.

As two crews worked together to haul a large cable down from the Logos and over the remains of some now nameless city to the Nebuchadnezzar, Tank and Sparks- who were in their respective chairs on both ships- kept watch for any signs of sentinel activity. Neo reached up to connect the cable to a hook near the exit ramp of the hovercraft before jumping down several feet from his high perch. Ghost and Trinity made a grab for his arms and torso after he landed to ensure he didn't fall and end up accidentally impaling himself on torn pipes. Everyone turned to Niobe who turned on her two-way radio.

"Sparks, turn it on. Let's see what a little juice can do to this heavy weight."

"Nothing I enjoy better than making a fat lady jump." Sparks commented back, flipping several switches.

A thundering of electricity was heard shooting through the cable as the crews moved to a safer distance. Neo had never seen the Nebuchadnezzar from the outside before, and Trinity didn't want to miss one second of his reaction. His eyes grew as he watched in amazement as the Neb shuddered to life and lifted itself ten feet from where it had been sitting for the past week. The calm throbbing sound from its energy pads only added to the effect as little bolts of electricity shot out from them onto the rubbish. Five pairs of eyes watched silently as the exit ramp descended, revealing Tank. As he walked over to the group, the ramp rose up into the ship, closing the only entrance that the sentinels didn't make.

"All right, she seems well enough intact. Let's get going." Niobe proclaimed before turning and walking towards the Logos.

As soon as everyone was in either the core or the cockpit, the Logos rose up and began to pull the larger Nebuchadnezzar. Neo turned to Trinity once they had been sitting in the core for some time, a question etched across his features.

"Trinity, what does Zion look like?"

Trinity kept silent for a moment, and noticed how much both Tank and Sparks wanted to answer it, but decided to tell him anyway.

"It's a mix of earth, metal and humanity. It's a rich blend of what was here before we came and what we brought with us. I can't explain it well, but Sparks and Tank can. They're Zion-born." Trinity gestured in their rather excited direction.

"Neo, it's like nothing you've ever seen before." Tank began.

"I've only been unplugged a month, Tank, there isn't much that I have seen. Thus almost everything is something I haven't seen before." Neo tilted his head, sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

"Ooooh, it seems you've got a new sarcastic crewmate." Sparks commented, laughing.

"Well, anyway, it's amazing. Just think, all of humanity that isn't out on a ship, is living there. All of humanity, right there. It's great to walk in the early evening. You get to see what you are really fighting for. Little kids running to dinner, anyone without a meal is brought into another home to eat, adults talking late into the night. It gives you a completely different perspective of why we can't take anything for granted." Tank was practically bouncing at the explanation.

"Because it's humanity at it's most stripped. No gold, no shiny objects, no tantalizing cuisine, no differentiation between rich and poor. No one is better than anyone else. They survive by sticking together and fighting for the same thing." Sparks continued.

"What's that?" Neo asked out of habit.

"A chance to see the next day." Trinity replied, locking her eyes with Neo's.

"We're almost there, everyone get your bags." Niobe's voiced cut through on the intercom.


	9. Zion and the Council

Neo stood next to Trinity as the exit ramp lowered, revealing several men on the dock. As he moved down the ramp with everyone else, Neo's eyes opened wide in awe of the dock before him- and, as Trinity mused- _he hasn't even gotten into the heart of Zion yet_.

One of the soldiers moved forward, clearly addressing Morpheus.

"Captain Morpheus, the council and Commander Lock would like you and your remaining crew to meet them at the council chamber in one hour."

"Thank you Captain Mifune." Morpheus nodded before the captain turned and left. "Tank, could you take my bags to my room as I dock the Nebuchadnezzar?"

"Yes sir." Tank took the bag from the outstretched hand, before motioning with his head for Trinity and Neo to follow him.

"This place is huge." Neo murmured to Trinity.

"You haven't even gotten inside yet, Neo. Just wait." Tank replied, overhearing the comment.

"You mean-" Neo trailed off, turning his head to look back at the docks as they approached the lift.

"This is the dock, Neo. It's supposed to be big and wide open." Trinity answered his unfinished question as she moved into the lift behind him.

The double doors shut behind them as Tank pressed two buttons. Neo felt the lift begin to descend, and moved to the sidewall, leaning against it. Trinity, who had noticed his discomfort, turned in curiosity.

"Neo, what's wrong?" Tank turned at the question, suddenly aware of the effect the lift's movement had on the other man.

"I'm just- I never liked elevators." Neo replied quietly, almost self-consciously.

"You were told by the machines to be afraid of elevators in the Matrix. That doesn't mean that you really are." Trinity remarked, placing a hand on his arm.

"Then how come I'm still left-handed?"

"Because that was something your brain had already decided before you began writing. A fear is something learned, not born with." Trinity explained as the lift slowed to a stop.

"My stop. I'll see you two in about forty minutes. I know you just can't stay away from Ol' Deadbolt." Tank laughed at the look Trinity shot him as he exited the lift, the doors shutting behind him.

"Deadbolt?" Neo asked, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Every ship has a strong dislike for our military commander. Lock is a pain in the ass. The only reason our ship has to pretend to be nice to him is because one wrong move and he'll remove Morpheus from duty."

"He doesn't like Morpheus I take it?" Neo inquired.

"Well, Lock doesn't like too many pod-born people. Some Zionists are like that, but not too many. They learned a long time ago, that if they wanted to survive, they needed to forget their differences. Morpheus is especially good at ticking him off by just a comment, so we have to tow the line every moment he's around." Trinity answered as the doors opened.

**Meanwhile...**

"I'm back!" Tank yelled the moment he opened the door.

"Tank!" Zee jumped up from her bed, and pulled him into a tight embrace. Releasing him, she asked softly, "Tank, where's Dozer? Did he go to see Cas first?"

Tank pulled away a few steps, his face grave.

"Zee, Dozer's dead. Cypher betrayed us on our last mission and almost killed me, but Dozer didn't survive." Tank swallowed as he felt tears forming in his eyes.

Zee moved towards him and pulled him into a tight hug, crying into his neck. Tank could feel the hot tears on his bare skin, and only held her tighter. Neither noticed as two figures entered into the small cabin.

"Zee? Tank? What's wrong? Guys?" Link moved quickly to their side, Cas not far behind.

Tank pulled away from Zee, allowing her to move into her husband's arms as he turned to Cas.

"Dozer- he, he was killed by Cypher. Cypher betrayed us. He killed Apoc and Switch, and gave Morpheus over to the agents. But I got that son of a bitch. I fried him." Tank's anger swelled, only to melt away at the sight of Cas's face. "I'm so sorry."

Cas stood stunned for a moment, before crying out and collapsing into Tank's arms. It seemed a mournful day for them all, only made worse at the fact that Cas's and Dozer's children would grow up without a father they barely knew.

* * *

"Okay, home sweet, Zion home." Trinity commented, swinging open the door to her room.

"This is your room?" Neo asked, truly surprised at the size after living in a small cabin on the Nebuchadnezzar.

"Zion is much larger than the Neb, Neo." Trinity pointed out as she dropped her bag to the floor.

"Do I- have a room?" Neo asked as he shut the door.

"Do you want your own room?" Trinity asked back, causing him to stop and look at her.

Neo was silent a moment before replying. "No. Unless you don't want me to stay with you."

"If you said that two weeks ago I would've kicked you out immediately. Now though, I don't know if I'd ever want to sleep alone again." Trinity smiled at the cheesiness of the comment, but could see that Neo was quite pleased by it. "Come on, we'd better get going. I don't want Tank to have to wait long by himself. I almost wish I'd gone with him."

"Why?" Neo asked, clearly confused.

"Because he has to tell Zee, Cas and Link all by himself." Trinity replied.

"Who are they?"

"Zee is Tank and Dozer's sister. She's also married to Link. And Cas is- was Dozer's wife." Trinity corrected herself, suddenly saddened. "Life in Zion just became much harder for Cas. She has two kids to take care of, but I know that family well enough. They all take care of each other; it's an amazingly close-knit family. Come on." Trinity ended the conversation with a twist of the door handle.

Moving out onto the walkway, Neo brushed his knuckles against the back of Trinity's hand before clasping it tightly, intertwining his fingers with hers. Trinity was at first unresponsive, but the flood of emotions within her head forced her hand to grip his tightly. A ghost of a smile graced her features as a few passersby stared. Trinity knew Neo was itching to ask a question. _There is no way I'm allowing him to prod me with questions tonight. I'll tie a shirt around his mouth if it keeps him silent._ Squeezing his hand gently, a sign that she would answer his question momentarily, Trinity pressed the 'down' button for the lift. Slipping through the opened doors, Trinity quickly pressed another button, shutting the doors before anyone could follow them into the lift.

"Okay, what are you dying to ask?" Trinity inquired, not even turning to look at Neo.

"Why were some people looking at you oddly?"

"Because you were holding my hand. Also because I was allowing you to hold my hand." Turning to glance at his face, Trinity continued. "I'm pretty well known here. The Trinity spoken about in Zion and whispered about among male crews on ships has been known for the past fifteen years to not even look at another person any differently than is normal. I've never taken a partner, nor been with anyone. I've never acted affectionately to anyone, and any guy that tried to come on to me found my fist in their face."

"Wow. They whisper about you on ships?" Neo asked, eyes wide.

"Tank tells me that many a man has spoken to him about how much they want me. But, I tend to just ignore it." Trinity shrugged.

"I can see why."

"Why what?" Trinity turned to look at Neo, a question in her eyes.

"Why they want you." Neo paused at the continued question lurking in the blue eyes before continuing. "Hey, I want you, and I can safely say it's because you are an amazing woman. Of course, they're probably just looking at your body, which I can also agree with." Neo smiled as Trinity hit him in the shoulder. "You're beautiful. Don't deny it."

Leaning down to stop her from responding, Neo pressed his lips to Trinity's. Pleasure blossoming throughout her body, Trinity moved closer, pressing herself to his frame. Moving a hand to grip his neck, Trinity didn't notice the lift come to a halt and the doors open. A group of people stood outside, just staring, unbelieving at the sight before them as Neo gently moved his lips over Trinity's mouth, causing her to emit a soft moan. Suddenly, one of the men standing cleared his throat. Neo and Trinity jumped apart, obviously embarrassed, but slid out through their unwanted observers.

As the pair moved forward toward the council chamber where Tank was waiting for them, one of the women turned to the others once they were in the lift and asked, "Is that Trinity?" All nodded, not taking their eyes off of Neo and Trinity until the doors shut.

* * *

"Tank, what's wrong? Are you all right?" Trinity asked, concern etched across her features, brow creased in worry.

"Yeah. I left everyone crying in Zee's room. They want to have Dozer's ashes stored in Cas's place instead of being dumped with the rest of the crewmates' ashes." Tank answered as Trinity pulled him into a hug. Releasing her after a moment, Tank glanced up at Neo before hugging him too. Neo was taken by surprise, but recovered quickly and wrapped his arms around the shorter operator. Letting go after a moment, Tank wiped his face before speaking.

"Okay, we'd better go in. How do I look?" Trinity stifled a laugh at the question, but only nodded her head. "I know, like shit, but I think we all deserve to look a little worse for the wear."

Pushing open one of the large doors, Tank moved inside where two soldiers stood at the second entrance. Neo and Trinity followed at his heels as they were led by one of the soldiers into the main room. Neo saw twelve people sitting at a long, slightly curved table, facing two other tables with stands behind them. Following Trinity to one of the tables where Morpheus was already seated, his face stoic as he sat, Neo saw another man, a little taller than Morpheus, with dark skin and a distinguishing indent in his chin cross the room to their table.

"Captain Morpheus, this is your remaining crew?" the man asked.

"That is right Commander. Trinity and Tank are all that remain of my original crew. And Neo here is our newest crewmember. He was unplugged right before Cypher's betrayal- which I told you about." Morpheus replied calmly.

"He seems to be quite a bit older than the age limit we have on releasing minds." One of the Councilors pointed out. Neo looked at the man, dark fuzzy hair and a thick beard.

"I know Councilor, but you see, I had to unplug him."

"Why is that captain?" The woman sitting dead center asked, her voice tinged with eloquence.

"He is the One." Morpheus replied proudly, causing a murmur to erupt from all of the council members. Neo watched as Trinity kept her eyes locked on the commander- who snorted quietly before moving to converse with the council.

"Commander Lock doesn't believe in the prophecy." Trinity explained as Neo looked on with confusion before turning to her and nodding in understanding.

The four members of the Nebuchadnezzar sat in silence for several more minutes as the council continued to talk amongst themselves. Finally, a slightly pudgy man with silver hair and a kind-looking face stood and walked around the table towards Neo.

As he approached, the man gestured for Neo to get up, saying, "Stand up son, come around to this side for a moment."

Neo looked from Morpheus to Trinity before standing and moving around to the other side of the table. Running a hand over his head, Neo tried his best not to look scared. Trinity could instantly see- he was uncomfortable, unused to this type of attention, and terribly afraid.

"I am Councilor Hamann. What is your name?" the Councilor asked kindly.

"I'm Neo." Neo replied.

"All right. Neo, can you tell us how you came to be the One?" The Councilor inquired.

At Neo's loss for words, Trinity took one look at Morpheus before standing and moving around the table. Ignoring the murmuring of voices from the council, Trinity grasped Neo's hand as she stood next to him. The Councilor looked down at the obvious pubic display of affection with both surprise and happiness.

"Trinity, would you mind telling us then?" The Councilor looked to one of the most well known woman in the resistance, hoping for an answer.

"The Oracle-" Trinity paused to glare at Commander Lock when he snorted at the name before continuing. "She told me many years ago that I would fall in a love with a man, and that that man would be the One. One of the agents shot and killed Neo on our last excursion into the Matrix to save Morpheus. Sentinels were ripping our ship apart, and yet, I told him, told his flat lined body, that he couldn't be dead, that he had to be the One because I loved him. I-I kissed him, and he breathed, and he, well, he can explain it better than I can."

Neo shifted as everyone focused back on him. "I, well, the three agents fired at me, and I just said 'No.' I didn't want to accept the rules anymore, and I didn't. I stopped every bullet they shot at me before they even reached my outstretched hand. When Agent Smith ran to fight me, I fought him with only one arm. I kicked him back down the hall and ran into him- and deleted him. Then I got out." Neo explained, taking reassurance in Trinity's thumb rubbing his hand idly.

The Councilor stood stunned for a moment before excusing himself and returning to the table. This time, Commander Lock didn't follow- he knew it wasn't his place to take part in this conversation. Finally, Councilor Hamann turned back around to face Neo, who had returned to his seat with Trinity.

"Neo, if you don't mind, we would like to have a few doctors run some tests, just to make sure you're fine and healthy. We do this to every new fighter when they come to Zion for the first time as Trinity and Morpheus can tell you. It really isn't our place to ask you to prove to us that you are the One, but I believe that there shouldn't be a reason for any person to lie to me, so I will take your word for it. On behalf of the council and Zion, we welcome you, both as a newly freed mind and as the One." Beaming at Neo, who smiled in return, the Councilor turned his gaze to Morpheus. "Morpheus, the ceremony for your lost crewmates will be held tonight, the plaques will be made ready for you. The Nebuchadnezzar will be repaired as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I ask you all to attend the gathering tomorrow night and to enjoy yourselves as much as you can during your stay."

Morpheus smiled softly before speaking. "Thank you Councilors." Nodding his head, Morpheus stood to leave.

Neo, Trinity, and Tank stood to follow him out before the leading woman spoke up.

"Tank, if you could, please accompany Neo to the hospital. You have sustained severe injuries in Cypher's betrayal, and I do not wish you to fall victim to infection and possible death from untreated wounds."

"I will Councilor, thank you for your thoughtfulness." Tank smiled at the woman before turning and following his crew out of the door.


	10. Expressing humanity in various ways

"Trinity, why did Morpheus speak to us about hiding our relationship from the council? They seemed fine to me." Neo asked once they were back in Trinity's room.

Trinity sighed before replying. "You are the One, Neo. Everyone looks at relationships as positive and good for people in a war because your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, or lover can give you happiness to fight all of the death and cold. Relationships generally help a soldier fight, instead of the common thought that your mind is slower when you have someone to worry about. Truth is, you worry about your entire crew, you care for them, but they know how to do their job, so you let trust fall there. Trust is the biggest thing when it comes to fighting in the Matrix.

"But- back to my main point- you are the One. They most likely aren't expecting you to really connect with someone- probably because you alone have these powers and you alone are prophesized to end the war. All you. All alone. That's why. Morpheus just didn't know how they would react. He was worried that they would try to keep us apart, or even take you away from us in general. They won't, not after our display in there." Trinity explained.

"Display?" Neo asked.

"Neo, unless asked, no one stands up to the council. Believe it or not, that's what I did. I stood after you alone had been asked, and walked over to you. I took your hand into mine- something you don't do in front of the council. And they saw how you reacted. Neo- you looked so afraid when you first stood up. When I was next to you, I could see in Councilor Hamann's eyes what he saw. He saw you stop shaking, he saw you stand up straighter. You changed when I was there. He noticed that, and knowing Hamann, he'll make sure nothing separates us. He's a good man."

"I could tell. I just- I don't want to have to be shaking like a leaf every time. I felt so embarrassed, even afterward." Neo shook his head. "I've never been good at being scrutinized, not to mention worshiped."

"I think it comes with the prophecy, Neo. No way out of it. But I do think it gets easier." Trinity moved closer, ducking her head to look into Neo's downward cast eyes.

"Why do you think that?" he asked, lifting his lids to look at her.

"Because it has to."

* * *

Neo stood in a scruffy, faded tan, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of supposedly cotton, brown pants, next to Trinity. He had stared in amazement when he saw the earth-colored dress that she wore to the ceremony. The fact that she was wearing a dress was shocking enough but that it connected loosely above her abdomen before splitting apart- revealing the skin between her breasts- and moved up and over her shoulders was an even bigger shock. I mean come on, Trinity _in a dress_ looking _sexy._ Who wouldn't find their jaw dropping at the sight of her?

The crew stood solemnly in the small temple. It was one of many found on different floors for people to go to for praying daily, or, in this case, to spread the ashes of fallen soldiers. Four jugs rest on the table, with one alone. Cas gently lifted it and brought it over to where Link, Zee, and the two children were sitting, crying softly. Neo hadn't understood why they would bury Cypher's ashes with the rest of the crew's but was quickly silenced when Trinity softly rebuked him.

She had said that it didn't matter what he did, he was still a fighter for the resistance for nine years and that no matter how much they hated him, he was only human. Neo had noticed how hard it was for her to defend him- even if it was his ashes she was defending, and had held her for quite some time.

Now, standing with Morpheus and Trinity, Neo saw silent tears on her face. Turning towards her, Neo lifted a hand and carefully wiped the tears away with a thumb. She never turned to face him, but she spoke quietly anyway, knowing he would hear.

"Switch was my closest friend on the ship. I loved her like a sister, and I know she wanted to die in a blaze of glory, back to back with Apoc, fighting to free humanity from the machine's grasp. I could see the sadness in her eyes as she accepted that it would never happen right before she was unplugged. I swore right then and there that I would never hold off for another day to tell someone that I care for them. Because I cared for her, Neo. I really did, and every day we became further and further estranged from each other and each day I put off telling her how much her friendship had meant to me through the years. And now, it's too late to tell her, and I just wish...I wish I could tell her once more. I just wish I could tell her."

"Shh, it's okay." Neo leaned forward and kissed her temple softly before pulling her against his chest, her body shaking as she silently wept. "She knows, Trin. She knows." Neo wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her tightly. "She knows."

* * *

"You're wearing the same thing to the gathering?" Neo asked Trinity when she entered their room the next evening.

"I only have one real Zion dress. It's not like I cart around a suitcase of clothes wherever I go." Trinity commented, setting down her boots near a rack of candles that were burning brightly. "Are you ready to go?"

Neo looked at her face for a moment, watching her look him over. Glancing down at his own attire- a pair of faded blue cotton pants that touched the floor and a gray-knit shirt- Neo nodded before following her out. Stepping onto the metal grating, Neo jumped a bit, causing Trinity to turn around in curiosity.

Neo looked sheepishly at her before answering the unvoiced question. "Cold floor and bare feet, what do you think?" Trinity just smiled.

Neo stayed silent the rest of the way, listening to his heart beating in his ears in anticipation, and Trinity's calm breathing. He knew that that was only the eye of a ferocious storm held at bay by a pair of piercing blue eyes. Neo knew Trinity could turn even some of the most respected men in Zion into a puddle of water with a glance. He knew that those eyes could either be a mirror if she chose not to let anyone in, or a window to the turbulent life underneath her skin. Amazingly, he had learned this in a matter of a week and a half. Not surprisingly, he could witness the change from emotionless soldier to striking woman in a way that no other human ever could, or would.

The opening of the lift doors caused Neo to come out of his reverie and return to the present. Stepping out, Neo gaped open-mouthed at the long corridor; rock and earth making up the walls, another cold metal grate as the floor. As he looked down further, he saw an opening with many objects strewn around it, but not in front of it. Coming closer, he could see the objects as different types of boots, sandals and shoes- finally understanding why Trinity had told him to leave his boots in their room earlier.

Walking into the opening, a form of doorway, Neo figured, the metal ended and all that he saw and felt was rock and earth in their purity. Moving around several clumps of people, Neo followed Trinity to a stepping area, allowing them to see the speaker up front- Councilor Hamann.

"Tonight, friends, families, lovers, and soldiers, I ask you all to shed your titles and enjoy yourselves. Later, an announcement will be made, but, until then, I wish you all to enjoy the moment, as we are free and alive." The Councilor left the announcing platform to a loud cheer from the crowd. Neo could see that easily over seven thousand people were packed in here.

"Trinity, if there is a gathering here for all, how come there are so few?" Neo asked, hearing the beginnings of drumbeats.

"There are many people who hold their own gatherings on the other floors in the temples. Roughly 150,000 people are at all of the gathering places. Most children are in bed, which is more than 1000 people and the elderly usually stay in their rooms, praying. Over 60 are out on ships, and the rest can be found everywhere in Zion. From the halls around our rooms to every mess hall, everyone is out tonight. Come with me." Trinity explained before grabbing his hand, dragging him off.

"Where are we going?" Neo asked.

Trinity smiled without answering. Pulling him over to a woman carrying a tray of short drinks, Trinity took two in one hand before releasing Neo's hand. Handing him a glass, Trinity cocked her eyebrow in a challenge before knocking the drink back, watching Neo do the same. Placing the empty glasses on the tray, neither noticed the woman glide away. Trinity watched as Neo's eyes widened, and a shiver ran through him, causing his whole body to shudder.

"What was in that?" Neo asked, feeling the effects from the tips of his fuzzy hair to the pads of his feet.

"No alcohol, I'll tell you that much. It's a mixture of different liquids. Most, you don't want to ask where from. The good thing about it-" Trinity paused, allowing a wave of heat to rush over her skin from the drink's effect. "-Is that it can't harm you in any way. It's actually healthy."

"Interesting. Considering its effects." Neo mused.

Cocking his head to one side, Neo could feel the pulse of the crowd moving in rhythm with the drums. He could feel the music seeping into his body, mixing with his cells. Glancing at Trinity, he caught her at a moment of unguarded emotion- her eyes watching him warily, passion drinking him in. Amazingly, sound, not so much touch, was affecting him more- until Trinity moved closer to him. Then of course, his senses began overloading with the scent and touch that could only be Trinity. He knew he would have a massive headache in the morning, and yet, found it hard to care. He wanted to touch her, to feel her skin on his own.

Trailing his fingers lightly down her bare arm, he watched the skin rise in goose bumps. Feeling the fire burning his fingertips, Neo took a step closer. Leaning down, he could almost believe that Trinity leaned into him hungrily- something he had never experienced before. Lips against lips felt like an inward explosion of nerves going berserk. Pulling her closer, pressing their bodies together, Neo felt Trinity shudder in shock of the suddenly heightened touch. As he slid his lips over hers, Neo felt, rather than heard, the music throbbing beneath his feet. Pulling away reluctantly, Neo watched in amazement as Trinity breathed slowly through her mouth, her eyes still closed, a quickly failing attempt at calming the chaos within herself.

"Trinity, let's dance." Neo whispered into her ear, feeling her shake against him when his breath tickled her ear.

"You've never danced before. I would almost think you wouldn't want to." Trinity replied, pulling back to look into his eyes.

"Yeah, well, we have plenty of time to do things _other_ than dancing. Why can't we do this now?"

"I never said we couldn't." Trinity smiled softly, pulling him down to the throng of people dancing fervently in the lower part of the cavernous temple. Pulling him to her, Trinity locked her arms around Neo's neck before whispering softly in his ear, "Just let it flow."

And he did. Slowly at first, in small, rhythmic movements, feeling the sheer material of Trinity's dress sway against his clothe-covered legs and chest. Moving his hands to grip the sides of her waist, he felt her move at the touch. As he pulled her body to his, Neo dipped his head to kiss the hollow between her neck and shoulder. He could just barely hear her sigh above the hum of the people around them, and smiled into her neck at the thought that he was the cause of it. Sliding his arms around to embrace her, Neo noticed they were just swaying back and forth now- and was completely happy about it.

Neither noticed when the music stopped- they were too into the feel of the other. Neither paid attention to what was going on around them until a woman standing nearby touched Trinity on the shoulder. Pulling out of Neo's grasp, Trinity looked at her in question, only to watch her gesture for Trinity to look up at the announcing platform. Turning together, Neo and Trinity stood in amazement as none other than Morpheus approaching the platform. Upon raising his arms, the crowd immediately quieted.

"Zion! I stand before you to make a proclamation. Many of you have lost hope and belief in the prophecy, but I am here right now to tell you that the One has been found! He stands with you in this very crowd, finding comfort and awe in humanity's home!" Morpheus paused as the crowd spoke in murmurs, many looking around.

Trinity gripped Neo's arm tightly, knowing what was to come next. She knew Neo would be afraid, but if he was meant to lead these people to freedom, he had to show himself. Whispering for him to follow her in his ear, Trinity wove herself through the mass of people towards the platform. Trinity could feel both Morpheus's eyes and many of the more observant people on her as they climbed the walkway to the platform. Stopping her behind a rock on their way up, Neo whispered heatedly to her,

"What are you doing?"

"Helping Zion to meet you."

"Trinity, I can't. I'm too afraid. That's over seven thousand people out there, watching me!" Neo pointed out, the color draining from his face.

"Neo, if you can stand up to an agent, you can face the people that you will lead. You have to. It is part of being the One." Trinity replied, pulling him up to Morpheus.

"Neo, you don't have to say anything. Just show yourself when I say so." Morpheus smiled kindly.

"Can Trinity come with me?" Neo asked, a tremor in his voice.

"Neo, you have to go out alone. I'll come out in a moment. I'm not leaving you." Trinity answered before Morpheus could open his mouth.

Nodding in submission, Neo watched as Morpheus moved back up to the edge of the platform, the crowd cheering. "Zion! I ask you to welcome Neo as friend and comrade, whether you believe the prophecy or not. He is the One, but he is also a human like the rest of us, fighting to free the rest of humanity from the Matrix's slavery! Welcome him!" Morpheus bellowed, the crowd cheering in happiness as Neo moved forward from the shadows.

At first, Neo was afraid. He wanted nothing more than to hide in his and Trinity's room. Then, like a bolt of lightning- it hit him. He was the One, something no one could take from him, something that made him unique and even more burdened than anyone else- and he had all of Zion behind him in a war he was supposed to end. Finding himself standing straighter, Neo lifted his head, his face masking the inner turmoil. Morpheus knew Neo was a quiet person by nature, and expected Neo to prove to Zion just who he was by his actions, not his words. Neo believed actions held more truth anyway- a good reason why he stood silently.

Morpheus smiled gently as Trinity moved up next to him, and, in front of seven thousand people, gripped his hand tightly. Looking at Morpheus for help, Trinity was not let down.

"The war's end begins tonight Zion! Rejoice and Celebrate!" Morpheus gestured to the musicians as the crowd again cheered- this time for both Morpheus and Neo.

As they stepped down, Niobe approached silently from behind.

"I hope you three can celebrate tonight. Morpheus, I hear there is a captain's card game going on in Soren's room. You up for it?" Niobe asked, a smile gracing her features.

Morpheus turned to bid Neo and Trinity a good night before following Niobe without so much as a response.


	11. Shed some light on the past

"Morpheus! Glad you could make it! Grab a pillow, take a seat, we're almost done with this game." Soren waved Morpheus in, smiling. "Hey Niobe, you ready to meet your match?"

"You'll never beat me Soren. Not in this world." Niobe shot back coolly.

"Why do I have the feeling this game is going to get much hotter?" Ice asked, before glancing at Roland.

"I don't know, Ice. Because you're no longer the only woman here?" Soren asked, before almost falling over from avoiding an attack on his legs.

"All right, come on guys. What are we playing?" Roland asked, shuffling the deck.

"All work and seriousness isn't good for you, Roland." Morpheus commented, sitting down between Niobe and Ballard.

"How does five card stud sound to everyone?" Ice asked, gaining a round of nods.

"Let's do this." Ballard agreed, to everyone's amusement.

* * *

"How many ships are in the fleet altogether?" Neo asked randomly as he lay on the bed half on and half off of Trinity.

Trinity was soothingly running her fingers up and down Neo's scalp while he rested his head on her chest, a protective arm across her midsection. They had come back from the gathering somewhat exhausted from the drinks, dancing, and uncountable conversations with everyone they had passed on their way back to their room. Needless to say, the sexual energy that had been so built up that it was ready to topple had dissipated more and more with each new person until it had become barely evanescent. Much like a flame when there is no more wick to burn. When they had finally gotten into their room, Trinity had lain down on the bed first, only to have Neo practically collapse in exhaustion atop her, his head on her stomach. He had moved to a more comfortable position next to her, and was now asking questions that seemed to come from nowhere and have no real point to them.

"Ten, including us."

After a moment, Neo murmured, almost to himself, "There's so much I don't know," Before scrunching his head down into his shoulders and pushing his arm out straight, stretching. As he resettled himself, he snuggled his head up against Trinity's chin.

"Everyone learns what they need to in time. Some people learn faster than others due to extenuating circumstances, but when you need to know something, the explanation will be given. It can be hard for some people to continually explain common knowledge to a newbie, but we have to remember that they don't know what we do. We have to tell them."

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Neo again spoke. "How does someone become a captain of a ship?"

"Looking to being one, Neo?" Trinity inquired, a smile playing across her face.

"No. I much prefer Morpheus' leadership, but I was just wondering."

"Well, there are several ways. One is that your previous captain is killed and if you are the second-in-command, you can be promoted. Another is that you must do something enough times for the Council to notice, or do something amazing and gutsy to catch their attention."

"What did Morpheus do?" Neo murmured.

"He pulled off one of the most widely spoken of unpluggings in the history of Zion." Trinity replied softly.

"Who's was it?"

"Mine."

Neo lifted his head from her chest to look her in the eyes, curiosity written across his face.

"What happened?"

"Oh come on, you asked me for confirmation on who I was the moment I said my name. I had the entire White House after me. The FBI, the NYPD, not to mention the agents, were all searching for me. It's amazing how small New York becomes when you piss off the United States government. I had been searching so madly for Morpheus, and at the same time, I was typing in all of these codes for the IRS on the web. I still remember what I was doing to this day." Trinity paused momentarily, causing Neo to ask,

"What?"

"I was sitting at my desk in my bedroom, a mug of tea next to my computer, typing all of these different passwords while sinking under firewalls that just seemed to appear. Suddenly, my screen went blank and then it went white. I had cracked the IRS database. I sat there stunned for almost five seconds before I saw the trace being run on me at the bottom of the screen. I was so far into the files that it was a race between who would win- myself or the government. I had to cover my tracks while getting out at the same time. It must've taken me three minutes to do, and by then, I had been found out for almost 90 seconds. Before I could shut my computer off, the screen went black again, this time; words began to fall onto the screen asking about the Matrix. I was given a location and time to meet before I ran out of my room, four hundred dollars in my pocket and a coat to stay warm.

"I ran all night, catching bus after bus, going as far south as I could. It took me four hours to find the goddamn club, and by then, I was such a wreck, I was jumping at the slightest sound. I met Morpheus and Apoc that night, and I was told that I would be given the answers soon. I took the red pill at the club before following Morpheus out. Smith, Jones and Brown were waiting outside with eight cops. I learned how to run that night. We ran from warehouse to store to anything for twenty minutes, dodging agents and later sharpshooters. I ran right into an agent during that escape, and almost had my neck broken, but Morpheus shot him. We got away and I was unplugged right afterward."

"Let me guess, it was the topic of Zion for quite some time, wasn't it?" Neo asked, smiling gently.

"Yeah, only about two years. My story gave Morpheus recognition while he was on the _Artemis_. Ghost's story gave him almost too much attention for him to bear. He's generally a reclusive person, only really holds a conversation with either his crewmates or myself, and suddenly, he had many people wanting to speak with him."

"What happened?"

"He mowed down fifteen cops with only one handgun- which was 12 rounds, mind you. It was what most would have called a suicide fight, but he got out. He spoke quite often with me about how the faces of the innocent could haunt his mind after that day. I remember spending hours sitting in his room, listening to him go on and on. It was mind shattering to know someone like him could be so torn up about something we do daily, only to a much lesser extent. I've known him since the day I first went into Zion. We view each other as brother and sister since we were unplugged on the same day, and because of that, we often open up to one another when we trust no one else. The day he first told me of the faces haunting his mind, I realized just how human we are."

"What do you mean?" Neo inquired curiously.

"I had never really dwelled on the subject of death or murder before that day. I have killed countless people in my time, and I have learned only through Ghost on that one day, how I have to become unfeeling when I go into the Matrix. Because if I didn't, I knew that I too, would have my dreams haunted by the faces of people that I had killed in the Matrix. Innocents. Ghost was stronger mentally than I was at the time, he could deal with those faces, but I couldn't. If they had haunted me, I would've caved. I learned that from him, to be cold inside to kill. After fifteen years of that, I had become cold even outside the Matrix as well. Then Morpheus sat me down in front of the console one day to watch your coding. The rest you know."

"Mmmm. Okay, I'm officially exhausted. All in favor of sleep?" Neo asked, his voice tickling Trinity's skin.

"I am." Trinity replied, moments before drifting off.

* * *

Neo awoke slowly, blinking his eyes in the darkness of his and Trinity's room. Lifting his head slightly, Neo found that they had shifted in the night. Almost completely in fact. Neo was now on his back and Trinity lay sprawled atop him. _Funny word to describe Trinity-sprawled._ Neo mused, a smile flickering across his face before he felt Trinity take a deep breath- a signal that she was waking up. As she lifted her head to look at Neo's face, Neo couldn't help but smile at the groggy face looking at him.

"What?" Trinity mumbled, voice thick with sleep.

"Nothing. You look like such an anti-morning person right now it's scary."

"I hate mornings in Zion. Everyone is always wide awake, and moving around, and I just want to sleep until noon." Trinity groaned, rolling off onto her back. Neo followed her and moved his body over hers.

"Well, I don't want to sleep until noon, but staying in bed until then seems like a lovely idea." Neo commented, a playful note in his voice.

"Neo, since when are you playful?" Trinity asked, blinking the sleep from her eyes at the reality of the situation.

"Since I was alone with you," Neo paused to move his lips against her neck, causing a smile to blossom on her face. "Since I danced with you," Neo kissed her jaw softly. "Since right now."

Trinity said nothing as Neo closed his lips over hers in a desire-provoking kiss. Lifting a hand to cup his cheek, Trinity slid her other down his back to pull his shirt off. When you have no time to be passionate on a ship, you take the chances you are given while on leave. Even if you are so tired you just want to sleep for forever. Trinity knew that the moment they returned to the Nebuchadnezzar, it would be all professionalism. It wasn't fair, but it was their life. Ignoring all other thoughts, Trinity allowed herself to be lost in the warmth spreading throughout her body, from the heat in her neck, to the tingles in her fingertips.

_Nothing can ruin this,_ Was Neo's last thought before a loud knock sounded on the door. _'Cept for that._ Neo kissed Trinity once more before releasing her, the fire of want burning in his eyes as she stood to answer the door. Neo watched as Trinity opened the door slightly and proceeded to hold a short conversation with whoever was outside before closing it again.

"Who was that?" Neo asked, propping himself up on his elbows.

"It was Morpheus, we're leaving. They fixed the Neb much faster than was expected." Trinity explained before moving to her bag where it lay on the floor.

Pulling out her normal attire, Neo watched as Trinity undid the knot holding her dress together, allowing it to fall to the floor. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of every inch of skin being exposed. Trinity turned her head in question before watching Neo rise to walk over. Clasping his hands around her, Neo pulled Trinity's body up against his, watching her facial reaction to his body against hers.

"When are we leaving?" He asked softly.

"An hour." Trinity replied, her voice short on breath.

"Plenty of time." Neo replied, before silencing any argument with a kiss.

Sliding his lips over Trinity's, Neo felt her pushing him backwards towards the bed. Her hands dropped to his pants, pushing them down before letting them drop to the floor. Stepping out of them, Neo fell onto the bed with Trinity, taking pleasure in the soft yet defined curves of her body, losing himself in her contours, sliding hands over taut muscles flexing beneath the skin. Making love after being denied an entire night when he had fiercely wanted to be with her was much like exiting the eye of a tornado and going back into the chaos. Moaning softly into her mouth, Neo climaxed, feeling utter euphoria- a far cry from the anguish that would be to come.


	12. Dealing together

"Everything's online and operational, Sir. Whenever you're ready." Tank informed his captain while in the Operator's chair.

From the cockpit, Morpheus spoke over the intercom, "How long does it take them to get here? Trinity has never been late to leave Zion; in fact, she's always been early. I wonder what has come over her?"

"Try sex. Like in a really big way." Tank replied shortly, smiling.

"I did not need to hear that Tank. My crewmembers' personal lives should be kept private unless they interfere with our job."

"Which they seem to be doing right now. Here they come, running up the ramp like flushed bunnies."

"Tank! Please, shut your mouth before I have to do it for you." Morpheus chastised sternly. Only Tank and Trinity knew that beneath the hard commander was a loving father figure who could be taken lightly in non-combat situations.

Tank only smiled as the pair dropped their bags. Trinity turned to close the ramp while Neo looked around before finding Tank's gaze. Smiling gently, Neo nodded in greeting before picking up his bag and moving towards the ladder. Trinity looked at Tank a moment longer before turning to follow Neo.

"First time the energetic bunny has been late. I wonder why." Tank called out jokingly. Neo stopped on the ladder and Trinity froze mid step.

Turning around, Trinity spoke over her shoulder, "Neo, I'll meet you in our room."

"But-"

"Go!" Neo complied readily and shimmied down the rest of the rungs.

"Tank, how are you feeling?" Trinity asked, dropping her bag again.

"Better, thanks for asking." Tank replied coolly. He'd done this to Trinity before, but he'd never actually had this type of response, his calm answer was a cover of worry.

"I love you, you know that. But you also know that there are lines that are not to be crossed in some conversations. My personal life is one of them. Don't do that again." Trinity turned on her heel, grabbed her bag, and descended the ladder, leaving an open-mouthed Tank to gape at the space she had left. It was the deadly calm tone of her voice that had scared the shit out of him, not the actual words. He now knew what some of the men in Zion felt like after trying to come on to The Trinity.

A few moments later, Morpheus's voice crackled through the headset, "So, I guess Trinity shut your mouth before I had to."

* * *

The moment Trinity entered hers and Neo's new room- Apoc and Switch's old room, Neo looked up from where he sat on the double bed and opened his mouth to speak.

"You know, this is a relationship and it only works when both people work together. You shouldn't have sent me here and dealt with Tank alone." Trinity felt a pang of guilt at the obvious pain in Neo's voice, but ignored it.

"Neo, I've known Tank ever since I joined Morpheus's new crew on the Nebuchadnezzar. That is fourteen years longer than you have known him. How I deal with his comments will be different than your own." Trinity sighed; she did not want a lover's quarrel right now.

"Because you've known him longer?"

"Precisely. Tank poked fun at all of us and only the people who weren't newbies knew that most of his comments were to be shrugged off. My personal life here has always been a large topic of rumors since I've never even tried to get closer to someone than as a crewmate. Only Switch and Tank were real friends. The others just, existed. I worked with them and I trusted them, we would play poker and drink together in Zion, but aside from that, we were just comrades. You never really got to know any of them, and now, it's just the four of us. I know you'll have plenty of time to get to know Tank but, right now, let me handle him."

"No." Neo replied stubbornly.

"Excuse me?" Trinity had been ready to leave the room, but tilted her head back up to look him in the eyes. _Right now it sucks to be the shorter of the two of us._

"You heard me."

"Yes I did. Now, explain yourself." Trinity crossed her arms in front of her chest, anger burning underneath her skin. Alongside that burning of anger was of want- amazing how anger and desire run along the same wavelength.

"I will not let you become the leader of our relationship. I won't follow your orders other than when you are Second-in-Command. This cannot work with one of us the lesser of the two. We have to deal with it all together." Neo leaned back, the stubbornness fading from his face. "I can't live without you, but I don't want to learn what it's like because of this. I just- I don't know. I've always believed that truth- that a relationship works if the two people treat each other equally in every situation. Now, granted, you do outrank me outside of this room, but I'm not about to use my powers as an advantage, and I don't expect you to either. In here," Neo paused to stand up and move towards her. "We are nothing more than-"

Neo paused again as he came within inches of Trinity. He swore he could hear her wild heartbeat as he leaned down slightly to move his temple against hers. Trinity pushed closer, before prodding Neo for an answer.

"Nothing more than what?"

"Than-" Neo breathed in her scent, the feminine smell that no one else noticed. A smell of a soldier, an angry person, a woman who was immensely turned on at this moment, and a woman who had, just twenty minutes ago, had sex with him. "Than two people loving each other in the dark of night." Kissing her softly on the lips, Neo slide his arms around her waist.

A sharp knock pulled them apart, Trinity turning to move towards the door. Opening it, they exited, following Morpheus. Moving down the hall to the ladder, the three people climbed it into the core, where Tank sat waiting for them. None saw the pained look on his face disappear before they entered. Smiling brightly, Tank watched everyone move closer.

"Neo, I believe it is time that you let the machines know what is going on. They have no idea what they are dealing with. I suggest you let them know. They have little to go on right now about your power, and I think a swift kick in their egos will be good."

"What am I supposed to say?" Neo asked, moving towards his plug in chair, Trinity behind him.

"Whatever comes to mind."

"I have something else I want to test right afterwards, do you mind?" Neo inquired as he got into the chair.

"Go ahead. You should start experimenting anyway." Morpheus smiled. "I won't ask what it is, but I think we'll record it for Zion in case it's spectacular."

"Is it going to be spectacular?" Tank asked, standing over the consoles to look at Neo.

"It'll be something." Neo replied, smiling just before Trinity shoved the plug into his head.

Within moments, Neo found himself in the white, vast emptiness that was the Construct. Tank's voice spoke from seemingly everywhere, and yet, nowhere.

"So, what does Mr. Spiffy want to wear today?"

"Black all over. Black dress shoes and dress pants, a collared button-down shirt and a long black coat over it. Don't forget glasses." Neo replied, feeling a twinge before his old clothes transformed into the new attire.

"You want any goodies besides a phone?" Tank asked.

"No. I'll be fine.

Seconds later, Tank had typed in the appropriate hack and sent Neo into the Matrix. Morpheus and Trinity stood on either side of Tank, watching Neo exit a bakery.

Walking down to the corner of an intersection, Neo slid into an empty phone booth. Shutting the door, Neo paused and took a calming breath. Gripping the phone, he lifted it from its cradle to his ear. Upon dialing the number of Tank's phone, Neo waited to hear the now commonplace sound of the machines tapping in and beginning a trace before opening his mouth to speak. Prior to speaking however, he began to push into the coding, shutting down the trace.

"I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid...afraid of us...afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how it's going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone, and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world, without you. A world without rules or controls, without borders or boundaries. A world, where anything is possible. Where we go from there, is a choice I leave to you."

He had felt the system fail almost halfway through his speech, and he just thanked Tank silently that he didn't speak when he picked up- he hadn't even thought to ask him not to answer the call. Putting the phone back in its cradle, Neo pushed open the door slowly and walked out. _Look at all of these people, completely unaware about their own imprisonment._ Looking around, Neo watched people cross the street, pass him by, talk on cell phones, drink coffee. Living what they thought was their own, free lives. Bowing his head, Neo put on his glasses before looking straight up. Bending slightly at the knees, Neo forced the Matrix's rules away from him and pushed off of the ground, hearing many surprised sounds from the people he left below. Flying high up into the sky, Neo swiveled around, trying to feel an agent.

Sensing one not too far away, Neo bolted down and landed with both feet on the ground not five feet from the surprised program. Tilting his head to one side, Neo blinked, reading the coding.

"The anomaly." The agent murmured.

"Yeah, that's me. Give your boss a message for me. This is no longer just your world. It's mine, and I'm taking it back." Neo again pushed off from the ground before the agent could even move forward to attack.

Pulling his cell phone from his inner coat pocket, Neo dialed Tank.

"Give me an exit, scream at me later." Neo commanded upon hearing Tank take a large gulp of breath.

"Waterman and Ford."

"Got it." Neo shut the phone and moved down towards his destination.


	13. It's not real

"Holy shit man! You were like, Superman in there! I knew you could do shit, but man, I did NOT know you could do that!" Tank exclaimed the moment Neo blinked his eyes awake.

Once Trinity had unplugged him, Neo sat up, and looked at the faces in front of him. After looking at Trinity's emotionless face, Neo shifted his gaze to Morpheus, who was plainly beaming at him.

"I'll send a copy of this disk to Zion right away to be broadcast on every ship and for everyone in Zion to see. Neo, all this does is make my belief in you and the prophecy become greater." Morpheus patted him gently on the shoulder before moving towards the ladder to go to the cockpit.

"Oh man, this is fucking amazing! I just have one request." Tank could barely keep himself from hopping up and down, he was so excited.

Trinity knew what the request was, it happened with every new member, and could only roll her eyes.

"What is that?" Neo inquired, turning to face Tank.

"You, dojo, Trinity."

"Why?" Neo asked. "I thought you only spar once."

"Not exactly. In between sentinels, missions, and keeping the ship intact, everyone has a sparring partner and they practice in the dojo." Trinity explained shortly, glaring at Tank. "Besides, he just wants to see if you can beat me."

"Why would he want to see that?"

"Because aside from Morpheus, no one has taken Trinity." Tank informed him, backing up towards the consoles.

Neo looked at Trinity for a moment before nodding. Feeling the metal needle slide into his head once more, Neo hoped it would be for the last time this day.

Landing in the now-familiar dojo program, Neo looked around himself before looking down. Seeing his previous outfit from his spar with Morpheus, Neo could only shake his head.

"What's funny?" Trinity asked, causing Neo to jump at her sudden appearance.

"Just curious why I'm not in my Matrix garb, is all." Neo replied.

"This isn't the Matrix. This is a sparring program. There's a difference in proper attire. Now let's spar." Trinity replied shortly, sliding a leg out into a graceful stance- a neutral one at that.

Neo saw the stance and moved into his own, a defensive neutral, before flicking his hand up. Trinity raised her chin, and moved forward. Graceful, yet deadly movements, made in the smoothest of ways as to minimize effort and energy spent propelled her body towards his. Neo at first was surprised with how she didn't hold back, and received several hits on his wrists, abdomen and collarbone as payment for his over-confidence. Finally blocking a hard punch towards his shoulder, Neo grabbed Trinity's forearm and twisted her up and over him. Flipping forward to avoid a counterattack, Neo narrowly missed a kick in his back, and instead landed a heel in her jaw with his flip. Trinity stumbled back a step before regaining balance.

Sprinting forward, Trinity preformed a triple front flip before spiraling into the air. Having one kick blocked, Trinity quickly shifted her weight and descent to land another kick in the side of Neo's neck. Neo let go of Trinity's foot in pain, only to have both of her feet wrap around his neck in a hold- but not a choke- as her back slammed to the ground. Pulling him down, Trinity pushed him over her and rolled with him, straddling his chest in the process. Pinning his arms, Trinity found Neo's legs wrapping around her own neck, flipping her back and away from him. Breaking the rules, Neo pushed himself up by changing the coding, and flipped around to stop a punch, throwing Trinity down.

All thought had left either's mind quite early on. They were simply practicing- sparring. Who it was didn't matter, but Tank felt it did enough to call Morpheus down to watch.

"Just look at them. Even against each other they work perfectly."

"Like quicksilver." Morpheus murmured.

"Huh? Oh, Matrix elements, right." Tank nodded in understanding before returning his attention to the figures on the consoles.

Trinity and Neo's legs crossed around each other before Trinity slammed a foot into the back of his knee, knocking him down. Pushing off of his shoulders, Trinity flipped over him in order to swing her legs into his chest. But she didn't pull it off, for Neo grabbed her ankles as she turned and pushed her body down to the mats. Using a strength Trinity was quite sure he hadn't used on her before, Neo pulled her body through his legs and straddled her hips. Pushing his legs out to lock down her feet, Neo grabbed her arms before pinning them to the mat. Leaning down to keep her from pushing her torso up in order to push him off, Neo was so close he could feel the heated breath coming from her lips. He could feel the racing heartbeat beneath her moist skin, and suddenly, thought came back to his head.

"I think Trinity has just been beaten." Tank proclaimed.

"I also think you should give them some time, turn from the consoles, and find an interest in the piping behind you." Morpheus ordered gently.

"Got it, wouldn't want to witness anything out of the ordinary." Tank nodded and turned around to watch Morpheus exit.

Neo flexed his grip on Trinity's wrists slightly, causing her to wriggle, trying to get loose. Knowing she would never willingly say that he had beaten her, Neo decided to see if she would at least compromise. Pressing his forehead against hers, felt her lips touch his cheek slightly. Shifting slightly, Neo brought his lips to meet hers. God, time was always against them, might as well make use of what they did have- even if it was in the dojo. Pushing his lips apart, Trinity traced his upper lip with her tongue- feeling his own tongue pushing against hers. Lifting her head up slightly, Trinity nipped at his mouth, pulling his lower lip into her mouth, before ending the kiss.

Breathing slightly heavier than before, Trinity harshly whispered to him,

"Not here. We can't."

"Why not? We don't have time anywhere else." Neo reasoned, leaning down again.

Trinity only turned her head to the side. Neo changed methods and began to kiss her jaw and moved down her neck. _He is right_, she knew it, _but_ _we have got to keep this real. Nothing else is. I am not going to say that what he's doing right now isn't having any affect on me, but it's not real...it's not real...it's not real._ Trinity kept forcing the mantra in her head not to leave as Neo's lips trailed further down to the part in her outfit. Feeling him tug at the sash, Trinity forced herself to keep remembering. _It's not real._ Neo undid the sash and pushed the fabric from her body. _Fuck real. I'm here now. It won't matter...just...this...once._ Trinity's last thought melted away as Neo kissed his way back up to her lips.

Suddenly, a siren went off in the dojo, causing Neo to jump at the sound, only finding just how tightly Trinity's hold had been. He had bucked slightly at the shock of the sound, and heard Trinity gasp softly. Looking into her more and more aware eyes as moments passed, Neo knew he must have accidentally moved against her in the right place. Sitting up, Neo allowed Trinity to pulled her legs out from between his before they were both ripped out of the dojo.

Opening their eyes in the real world, Neo felt his needle pulled out before seeing Morpheus standing beside him. Tank ran from Trinity's chair, the latter right behind him.

"The Neptune called us. Sentinels are moving our way." Tank sat down in his chair, while Neo moved to stand next to him as Trinity and Morpheus ran to the ladder.

Arriving shortly in the cockpit, Morpheus began looking at possible hideouts while Trinity hastily drove the ship. Looking at the scanners, Morpheus pointed to one area, an alcove.

"Try there."

Trinity complied readily, guiding the ship quickly into the snug spot, the landing gear out, putting the ship down as easily as was possible. Tank spoke quickly over the intercom while typing furiously.

"Power going offline now."

Neo watched as the ship darkened and the consoles became blank. Subconsciously he noticed that he could no longer hear the normal hum of the engines.

"EMP ready."

Trinity held her breath as a sentinel clambered over the wreckage, opening a small sensor, only to shut it a second later and move off. Breathing in slowly, Trinity turned to Morpheus.

"I'm guessing they're going to be out in droves now that Neo has threatened them."

"I agree. We must tell the other ships." Morpheus followed Trinity out of the cockpit and down to the core.

"No problems, I take it?" Tank asked upon their entrance.

"One was right below us, but moved on." Trinity replied. "We're going to send a message to all ships in range about heightened sentinel activity."

"Good idea. But, we better not waste too much time talking about it." Tank nodded in agreement.


	14. Watching Hunter

Tank slid into the med bay. Moving around the tables, he came to a closed cabinet and opened it. Grabbing an IV bag and needle, he sat down on a stool. Tying the bag up on a hook, Tank pushed the needle into a vein in his left arm. Whipping his head up at the door opening, he could do nothing but sit and deal with the questions sure to come.

"What are you doing?" Neo asked, closing the door so no one else would hear or come in.

"It's my side. It's still hurting." Tank answered truthfully.

"Why didn't you stay in the hospital at Zion then? They can treat you. You'll heal faster with proper medical care and rest."

"Truthfully, I hate doctors. I hate hospitals. I'll get better on my own, don't worry." Tank smiled weakly.

"Why do you hate hospitals?" Neo asked, sitting down on one of the tables.

"My mother died in one when I was eight. I've never liked them since." Tank turned his head to one side, forcing back tears.

"I'm sorry." Neo smiled sadly before standing to leave.

"Thanks. Hey, don't tell anyone, okay? They'll kill me even before I am brought to Zion." Tank asked, trying to make light of the situation.

"Yeah. Don't worry." Neo replied, hiding the pain from his voice.

Tank watched Neo leave before pulling the needle from his arm and placing it back in the cabinet.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Trinity asked when Neo returned from his talk with Tank.

Neo paused, thinking about what to say before looking her in the eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Trinity eyed him a moment longer before patting the space next to her. Neo sat in it, leaning back into her. Wrapping her arms around him, Trinity kissed his neck gently, her nose grazing his head plug. Shivering at the touch, Neo leaned his head back to rest it on Trinity's shoulder as the door opened. Turning at the intrusion, Neo and Trinity found Morpheus in the doorway.

"I have my eye on a new person. She's really got quite the record for hacking." Morpheus informed the pair, not giving more than a blink at their current position.

"She?" Neo inquired.

"Yes. She has taken a greater interest in the Matrix and myself after that daring rescue you two pulled off. Needless to say, you already have fans." Morpheus smiled gently at Neo.

"What?"

"We all get fans. I was known everywhere for the IRS d-base hack. You're known for getting Morpheus out with me." Trinity explained.

"Oh. Neat."

"Yes, it is because fans get drawn into searching for us, and an answer, as you know." Morpheus replied. "Come, see her for yourself."

Neo looked back at Trinity before standing and following Morpheus out. Arriving in the core, Neo looked at the screen, seeing a specific code being singled out. Reading it, Neo found the girl had just spilled hot coffee all over her physics book while downloading a piece of confidential information on him.

"I'm already confidential?" Neo asked, incredulous.

"You decimated a government building, Neo, what do you expect?" Morpheus replied, arching an eyebrow.

"What's her name?" Trinity asked, leaning in next to Neo.

"Hunter."

"Simple enough. Do you know why she chose it?" Trinity turned to face Morpheus.

"She hunts down information on all of us, and other information for paying customers. Much like Neo used to."

"Not all that original then." Trinity commented, turning from the screens.

"Why do you say that?" Neo asked.

Trinity turned, a look of surprise on her face.

"Why did you pick your hacker alias?"

Neo fidgeted for a moment, before answering. "Because I was alone."

Trinity nodded. "I picked mine because there were only three things I believed in before I was unplugged: myself, God, and an answer to the question, 'What is the Matrix?'"

"I picked mine since Morpheus was known in the Bible as a man who had trouble sleeping, as I did. I felt more alive asleep, and yet, I had insomnia." Morpheus shrugged his shoulders. "We all choose our names for specific reasons. Some, like Trinity, are more difficult to figure out than others. The point is, is that we pick our hacker name because it relates to who we have become in the computer world."

"Okay, I get it. So, how long are we going to watch her?" Neo asked, switching back to the topic at hand.

"A month, at least. I will set up shifts that will be appropriate for us today so that we can watch her and the Matrix and still sleep." Morpheus answered.

"A month? Do you really believe that to be enough time again?" Trinity asked, uncertainty obviously struggling with disbelief in her voice.

"Trinity, not everyone will turn into Cypher." Morpheus reasoned tiredly.

"I know. I'm just not sure we should do that again." Trinity replied.

"What's the difference between one month and six months?" Neo asked innocently.

Morpheus looked over to him before responding. "A definite choice between the red and blue pill. Cypher took a whole minute to choose. You took mere seconds. That's the difference. Uncertainty."

* * *

"Hey, I couldn't sleep. Decided to come give you a visit." Trinity appeared behind Neo, wearing a blanket around her shoulders, causing him to jump slightly.

"How do you do that?"

"I've had a long time to perfect it. This ship echoes. When you don't want to wake every living being up on it, you learn how to move silently." Trinity explained, leaning against the side of the chair. "How is everything?"

Neo turned from her face to look back at the raindrop coding.

"Well, a 24 year old druggie was just apprehended in New York, not much else of interest."

"Why do you always watch New York?" Trinity asked, looking down towards him.

"Because I grew up there." Neo leaned back, resting his jaw on his hand.

"You weren't there when we found you though."

"I moved. That was just where I grew up." Neo explained.

"Got it. How's Hunter?" Trinity turned to look at the other screens.

Neo leaned forward and tapped one, bringing it up to the main screen.

"She's reading up on you right now." Neo answered, looking back at Trinity.

"What the hell-? How the fuck did she get that information?" Trinity squinted her eyes, anger building up within them.

"What?" Neo turned to read the coding.

"My vital statistics. She found my height, weight, eye and hair color, sex, and what fingerprints they have on me! My God, she's good. No one has been able to get that far into that stuff." Trinity allowed a hint of a smile to play at her lips.

"Why not?" Neo swiveled back around; all of this twisting was giving him a sore neck.

"Because I made it behind firewalls, various forms of file codes, and in a hidden area of the CIA database. That type of hacking takes at least nine hours, not to mention how many traces by the government must be made on her by now."

"Well, she apparently got around those traces. They haven't been tripped, look." Neo pointed to another screen, pulling up the traces.

"Damn, that girl has some skill. I wonder where she learned it." Trinity shook her head, allowing the smile to appear for an instant.

"Does it really matter?" Neo leaned his head back, looking back at her upside down.

Trinity looked down for a moment before shaking her head again. Bowing her head, Trinity kissed Neo gently upside down, sucking his upper lip into her mouth before pulling away.

"I was hoping for sleep. Now I'm thinking I came to the wrong place." Trinity grinned.

"Nah, come here. I'll guarantee you sleep." Neo pulled Trinity by the waist around the chair and into his lap.

"And if I don't?" Nose to nose, the question was breathed against his lips.

"Then you'll get you're money back tomorrow night." Neo kissed her forehead gently before she laid it against the hollow between his neck and shoulder.

Wrapping an arm around Trinity's shoulders, Neo pulled the blanket tighter around her body before settling deeper into the chair, allowing Trinity's lower spine to curve against his inner thigh in a comfortable position. Draping his right arm across her thighs to reach the keyboard, Neo tapped a few keys to pull out of New York and look at the United States instead.

An hour passed before Neo heard the distinct sound of a boot scraping on the ladder. Knowing he couldn't move, lest he wake Trinity, Neo awaited for the unknown person to come upon him. A few seconds later, Morpheus moved around to the side of the chair. Looking down in slight surprise, Morpheus saw the look of affection in Neo's eyes and the reprimand behind his lips was instantly swallowed. Neo broke the eye contact from Morpheus to look down at Trinity again and tenderly brushed a strand of hair from her face. Smiling softly in sleep, Trinity moved her head into the gentle caress from Neo's hand, causing Morpheus's mouth to drop open.

"After fifteen years, this is the first time I have seen her smile like that. I am happy it's because of you, no matter what anyone else may say. Now, I came down here to let you off early, and I think it would be a good idea, seeing her with you." Morpheus whispered softly.

"I'll have to wake her to get up the ladder." Neo murmured back, looking slightly upset.

"I'm sure she'll fall right back asleep." Morpheus placed a hand on Neo's shoulder before squeezing it gently.

Neo leaned down and kissed Trinity on the lips. As she stirred slightly, Neo trailed his fingers along her face until her eyes slowly opened.

"Wake up sleepyhead. You have to climb the ladder." Neo whispered in her ear.

It seemed as if Morpheus didn't exist at this moment, but instead was a fortunate observer to watch two of the leading soldiers be affectionate to one another. It was a gift few, if any, witness. Helping her stand slowly, Neo wrapped his hands around Trinity's waist as they walked to the ladder.

The moment Trinity had climbed the last rung; Neo lifted her back up into his arms and cradled her body against his chest. Had she been more conscious, Trinity would never have allowed such a thing to be done to her. But she was half asleep, and the warmth from his body only made her drowsier as he carefully opened their door. Placing Trinity on the bed, Neo turned to close the door tightly before kneeling in front of her prone body. Slipping her shoes off as carefully as possible, Neo pulled the three blankets they had up to her chin before taking his own shoes off. Sliding under the blankets, Neo wriggled his body up against Trinity's before drifting to sleep.


	15. The accidental wound

Neo awoke slowly as the lights blinked on and off several times before stabilizing. Hearing the reassuring hum of the engines, Neo stretched his arms above his head, only to feel Trinity tighten her grip around his midsection. As she exhaled softly, Neo felt the tickle of breath upon his neck. Lifting his head slightly, feeling the muscles in his neck strain, Neo looked down at the sleeping figure beside him. Letting his muscles relax, Neo's head dropped back down onto his pillow, cushioning the otherwise painful collision.

Turning to face Trinity, Neo shifted to his side. Moving his hand across the unique planes that made up her face, he smiled in unabashed awe. _I could easily call her an angel, but that seems too damn cheesy to be thought of. She could be a goddess, but that is too romantic even for my taste. She could be a soldier, but right now, rank and occupation are meaningless. She could be a woman, who hides behind a pair of dark glasses and a commanding voice, who fought not_ _to_ _love me instead of giving in immediately, who made everyone else look past the gender and see the spirit, who can hide who she is from everyone except me, and who can only be defined as irreplaceable. _Kissing Trinity's nose softly, Neo pushed his musings to the back of his mind as he watched her wake up.

Moving her head to the side slightly, Trinity slowly lifted her heavy lids to see a pair of soft brown eyes watching her intently. Yawning, Trinity stretched her arm out across Neo's stomach and moved her legs, bumping against Neo's in the process. Moving her head up, Trinity pressed her nose to Neo's.

"Morning."

* * *

"Sir, you'd better have a look at this!" Tank yelled over the intercom, pulling Morpheus from his breakfast.

Reaching the core in under a minute, Morpheus leaned over Tank's shoulder, his eyes searching the screens in front of him.

"That's the Vigilant! They're sending out a sentinel S.O.S. call. How far away are they?"

"Barely three kilometers. We should be able to reach them in less than five minutes." Tank replied, pulling up a map of the surrounding tunnels to get a better timeframe.

"Sound the alarm. Get Trinity out to the cockpit as soon as possible." Morpheus commanded before he turned and ran to the ladder, the alarm wailing overhead.

* * *

Trinity jumped at the startling sound before quickly following Neo out of the bed to get their clothes. Tossing various articles of clothing to one another, they dressed quickly. Wrenching the door open, Trinity turned to Neo.

"Go down to the core, be ready for anything and listen to Tank, he knows what he's doing." Trinity turned back in the direction of the ladder, but Neo grabbed her arm and spun her back around.

"Where are you going?" Neo asked, wincing at the shrill sound of the alarm.

"The cockpit." Trinity stated before attempting to turn, only to find that Neo hadn't loosened his grip. Pausing to calm the sudden rush of anger, Trinity took a step towards him. _This has never happened to him before, he's just scared, he doesn't know. When this is over, by God, I'll explain to him that protocol is to get your ass out to the core as soon as possible, not hold me up because you're afraid._ "I'll be fine."

Neo nodded in submission at the firmness of the statement before releasing her. Trinity turned and ran to the ladder, Neo in tow. Climbing up as fast as she could, she heard Neo get off at the core level and continued up to the cockpit. Jumping off the ladder, Trinity ran to the co-pilot's seat and sat down, pressing buttons as she settled in.

"The Vigilant sent out a sentinel S.O.S. call." Morpheus explained before Trinity had a chance to speak.

"How long until we get to them?" Trinity asked as she pulled up a map of the surrounding tunnels.

"They were downed around the next connector. Take the controls for me." Morpheus ordered as he grabbed the intercom. "Tank, Neo, man gun turrets three and four. Five sentinels will be on attack."

Trinity stole a glace at her captain. "You're going to use the gun turrets?"

"We have no other choice." Morpheus explained, looking at her sadly.

"Which turret was Forrest killed in?" Trinity asked, a sudden wave of fear causing heat to rush through her body.

Morpheus paused as the Vigilant came into sight and the two turrets began firing. "Turret three."

Trinity looked at him suddenly. "Was the malfunction ever fixed?"

Morpheus's eyes widened at the direction the conversation was going in before shaking his head 'no'. Looking at her a moment longer, Morpheus grabbed the controls. "Go."

Trinity didn't need any other word. Springing from her seat, she ran out of the cockpit. Climbing swiftly down the ladder, Trinity moved down around the main part of the core towards the bow of the ship. Finding Neo and Tank next to each other, firing shell after shell, Trinity knew she could do nothing, lest she wanted one of them to make a mistake that could very well be fatal to all. So she stood behind Neo, worry etched on her face, sparks of heat rushing through her body, anxiety twisting her stomach in knots, and the knowledge that she could do nothing. _Absolutely nothing._

The realization made her anger boil beneath her skin. She, Trinity, had never been unable to do anything ever before. What made now so different? _Because if I do anything, we all die._ Trinity's rational mind seemed to be getting the better of her lately, and she decided she'd better start listening to it sometime soon. Seconds turned into minutes until the last sentinel dropped. Neo had just fired the last shot when one of the bullets discharged wrong, slamming back into the ship. Neo ducked in time, and turned to cover his head, remembering the story Trinity had told him only to hear a cry of pain from a distinctly female voice.

"Trinity? Trinity!" Tank yelled, clambering out of his seat to land at her side.

Neo reached her a moment later, cradling her head in his hands. Blood was seeping out onto the floor from a wound in her upper arm; the bullet had sliced right through it. Neo lifted her up into his arms and half ran, half walked to the med lab. Tank pushed open the doors, and ran to get an anesthetic. Neo put her gently down on the table, gripping her good hand. Trinity groaned in pain, tightening her grip on Neo.

"Hurry Tank." Neo commanded.

Tank nodded before rushing around to put the needle in the plug on her bad arm. Trinity winced as he gripped her arm, before letting out a haggard breath when he finished. Tank went around to get some medical tools and gauze, while Neo grabbed a sponge, soap, a towel, and a small bowl of water. Sitting down next to her, Neo lifted her arm, and gently washed around the wound as Tank put a tray of various medical supplies next to him.

They both looked up as Morpheus walked in, worry etched on his face. Neo backed away from Trinity when he finished and moved towards the sink. Morpheus watched as he cleaned the bowl, tossed out the sponge and put the towel in a basket before washing his hands.

"When you are done, I would like you to help me with the Vigilant." Morpheus looked at Neo, before glancing at Trinity's slack face.

"All right." Neo nodded, his eyes immediately returning to Trinity.

"What happened?"

Neo looked up at the sudden question before shaking his head. "I'm not really sure. The last bullet I fired ricocheted back and hit her. That was the turret that killed Forrest, wasn't it?"

Both Tank and Morpheus looked up at him in surprise. Morpheus figured Trinity had told him, and nodded. "We never fixed the malfunction because I never wanted to use the turrets again."

"Well, I think our next trip into Zion should include repairs for the turrets." Neo coldly stated.

Morpheus was a little perturbed at the quiet fierceness of the statement and suddenly realized just how deep Neo's love for Trinity went. He nodded once in agreement before leaving.

* * *

Neo climbed down the ramp with Morpheus, an EMP gun and flashlight in his hands. Walking slowly towards the slightly smoking hovercraft, Morpheus wasn't surprised to see Soren step out from the shadows and call up to him.

"Anyone hurt?" Morpheus asked.

"Axel is. I think his knee was broken in several parts when a sentinel smashed into him." Soren replied, before calling out towards the ship. "Guys, come on, get everyone out of there."

Neo looked around the ship as Binary, Vector, and Jax carried Axel on a makeshift stretcher. Climbing down the rubble, he grabbed part of it, leveling out the carriers as he placed the gun next to Axel's good leg.

"Thanks Neo." Binary murmured.

Neo turned to look across at her, wondering for a moment how she knew his name before remembering how Morpheus had sent out a copy of his "Matrix flight" to every ship. Allowing the corners of his mouth to flick up for a moment, Neo turned to concentrate back on climbing up into the Nebuchadnezzar. Once they were on the ship, Neo helped guide the other three towards the med lab.

Pushing open the door, Neo found Trinity sitting up, wiggling her fingers before her eyes flicked up to his. Jax and Vector grabbed the ends of the makeshift stretcher as Neo and Tank moved around Axel. Tank slid his hands under Axel's shoulders as Neo slid a hand under his waist and down at his calves.

Tank looked at Neo. "Ready? One, two, three lift!"

Axel let out a loud cry as Neo and Tank lifted his body and moved it onto the table. Trinity moved around to get a sedative out while Jax, Vector and Binary watched in silent acknowledgement: it wasn't their ship; let the others care for their wounded crewmate.

It does not escape the ever-watchful eyes of the Vigilant's crew that Trinity spares more than just one glance at Neo. Nor does it escape their eyes that he catches those glances and holds them for several moments before going back to setting Axel's leg in a brace. All three spectators knew enough about Trinity to know this man must have made more of an impact on her than any other man or woman ever has. They also knew just how hard it must be for her to even let him in after everything she had gone through.

* * *

"We'll help repair the Vigilant tomorrow, for tonight, you can rest in one of the spare rooms." Morpheus offered as he put away air-dried cups and bowls in the mess hall.

Soren glanced up at him, truly grateful. "Thank you, Morpheus. I'm just glad you got to us in time."

"I wouldn't call finding your hull ripped open like a tin can 'in time,' but if you think so, then I won't argue." Morpheus smiled gently before sitting down across from his fellow captain.

"You know, up until a week ago, many of the ships didn't believe the rumors they had heard about your new recruit. In fact, many of us actually started to believe the rumor that you were crazy was true. We didn't talk about it at the poker game because it would have only overshadowed the happiness of the time. But I ask you now, away from Zion, away from the other captains, away from our ranks, how can you come to believe in one man who is over the age limit of unplugging, who is as thin as a rail, and who still trips over the ground wires in the core?" Soren questioned Morpheus, a desire to believe in his eyes.

Morpheus looked down at the table for a moment, taking a breath, and thought over what he could say. Sure he could say what he told Neo, Trinity, hell, even the Council, but this was Soren, his longtime friend. No, long-winded speeches created to stir hope in someone was not needed, not required. Soren wanted a reason, that's all he ever wanted, and he would give one to him.

"Have you ever watched a mother care for her infant? Have you ever seen a family sit down at dinner, praying in thanks for what they have? Have you ever seen a blind man sitting out on the streets let in from the winter snow to a warm shelter? These are all blessings to see, both in the Matrix and out. They bring compassion and love into one's heart. It is because of the simplicity of the acts, the humanity in them, that we feel blessed. It is because he is human, because of his compassion and humanity that I believe in him. He could walk like a king, and yet, he gives all of his treasures to the less fortunate. Not because he thinks they are lesser than he, but because they need them more than he does. He gets along with a small pillow, three threadbare blankets, two shirts, and recycled boots from six previous crewmembers. And yet, he does not complain.

"I haven't even heard a moan from him about too much work or too few material things. He will take another person's shift in the middle of the night simply so they may get more sleep, even if it deprives him of his own. Even in the Matrix, his skills are second to our safety. I think it is because he has the constant burden that he cannot be harmed in virtual reality, and we can. A guardian angel who gives his help with no desire for thanks. He does his job tenfold without a murmur. That is why I believe in him. Not because he can fly, or stop bullets. But because, despite all of that, he remains irrevocably human. He will never let his powers get the better of him because he has too many burdens on his shoulders to let him."

Soren sat silently for moment, digesting all of what he had just heard.

"Does Trinity have any influence on his humanity?"

Morpheus blinked at the question; surprised at the way it was stated. Perhaps more surprised because of the agreement in the answer.

"She is his only weakness, I would say. When she is hurt, he may not bleed, but her pain is his pain multiplied because he must watch her suffer, he must look at the wounds. He probably would believe that any injury she sustains within the Matrix is his fault because he was not there to protect her. Which therein lies his weakness. He won't always be there to help her, and each bruise gained from his absence will only fuel his anger at the perpetrator and deepen his anguish at the sight of her pain. He loves her so deeply, I can almost believe it's wrapped around his every nerve and muscle, expanding and contracting with every action she makes."

"Does she love him as deeply?"

Morpheus took a moment to cast a look at Soren before replying. "It was prophesized that she would love the One, but I think Trinity loves the man who is the One, not the One himself."

Soren nodded, instantly understanding the deepness and complexity of the statement. Trinity was always a hard person to figure out, most knew she was a damn good soldier and left it at that. Others, like Ghost and himself, looked under the armor, behind the glasses, and saw the complex thunderstorm just waiting to be unleashed within her soul. Her eyes could hide everything but her humanity. Ghost had told him once that Trinity had said she hated her humanity and how it made her weak, but her argument was deflated when he had told her that the weakness of humanity was better than the inhuman mind of any machine.

"She could always turn heads, whether she wanted to or not. How do you know he's not just sticking around for her body?"

Morpheus quelled his initial rush of anger immediately. "Sometimes, my words cannot do justice. Tomorrow, keep your eyes open to them, both of them, not just Neo. You will most likely catch a glimpse of what I feel my words could never fully explain. What did they always say? 'You have to see it to believe it.' With that, I bid you goodnight. We all have a long day ahead of us, and I would like to be well rested." Morpheus nodded once before standing, Soren quickly following him out.


	16. A day of hanging around

"Shit! Jax, watch what your doing!" Binary yelled up to her operator, barely missing a wrench that he had accidentally bumped over the side. "Neo! Incoming!"

Neo jumped quickly to the side, the wrench missing his head by inches and instead hitting the edge of his shoulder. In a cry of surprise and pain, Neo jumped back another step and grabbed his shoulder, rubbing it soothingly. His eyes made their way up to Jax's apologetic face.

"Next time," Neo picked up the wrench and tossed it up to Binary who tossed it up to Jax. "Be a little more aware of where your tools are."

"Sorry man." Jax gave a little wave before going back to his job.

Neo shook his head before he felt Trinity's worried gaze on his back. He knew she would never run over to him, asking if he was okay, that wasn't her style. Her style was more of: when she asked how he was later and he said, "Never better," she would gently hit the bruise to disprove his statement. Hey, just because she was in love with him didn't mean she would take his shit. Neo didn't turn to meet her gaze, knowing full well it would do no good and instead picked up his torch and climbed up next to Binary.

"How's the new panel working?" Neo asked, before pulling his welder's mask over his head.

"Not bad, if you can finish that side, I'll do this one and we'll be done here." She replied, dropping her own mask over her face.

Flinching several times at sparks, both soldiers finished at roughly the same time. Lifting their masks back up, Binary smiled gently.

"One thing about repairs, they can be more dangerous that the actual attack." Neo nodded in agreement as she turned to climb down.

Placing her foot on the first foothold, Binary mistook the distance and slipped, her body falling out and away from the ship. As a screamed was ripped from her throat, she felt a hand tightly grasp her wrist, stopping her fall to the ground, 25 feet below. Every person came running from their places, and looked on in shock at the sight. Soren ran towards the footholds at the bottom, only to feel them giving way.

"We can't get up there, Neo! Can you pull her up?" Soren yelled up.

Neo winced at the pull her weight was making on his right arm, but managed to nod. Kneeling down on one leg, Neo grabbed hold of the ship's hull with his free hand.

"Binary, look at me. Look at me!" Binary's face turned from the ground beneath her to Neo's face. "Can you grip my arm with your other hand?"

Binary made a grunt before swinging her body up to grip his arm with her other hand. A startled gasp came from the crowd at her sudden movement. Neo winced as her weight shifted before her other hand gripped his forearm tightly. His eyes looked below him for a moment, seeing Tank, Trinity, Morpheus, Soren, and Vector looking up in worry for both parties, not just the one dangling. It was the knowledge that one false move could send both of them hurtling down to the ground that caused the greater fear.

If anyone could peel their eyes away from the danger above them for even a second to steal a glance at Trinity, the surprise at seeing her unbridled worry and fear shaking her body would make any person realize just how important the man holding Binary was to her.

"Binary, listen to me. Can you climb up my arm, you know, like a rope?" Neo asked, trying to hold onto the hull better.

"I think so." Binary paused before loosening her grip on his hand and raising it up to his biceps. As she pulled herself up slightly, Neo gritted his teeth, letting a guttural groan escape his lips.

Just as he thought Binary might get a leg up over the edge of the platform, Neo felt his hand lose its grip on the hull. Only able to let out a gasp of surprise before he fell, Neo heard the group below cry out in fear. For a moment, Neo felt suspended in air, like when he flew in the Matrix, but then, gravity butted in and he began to fall. Flinging out his free arm in a last attempt, Neo barely grabbed the platform he had been kneeling on. A sudden jerk caused his whole body to shake as his descent came to an abrupt halt. Pausing to take in the severity of the situation, Neo yelled in sheer pain as he swung his body back once before practically throwing Binary up towards the platform.

Binary released her grip on Neo in time to grab the platform. Climbing quickly over the edge, she grabbed Neo's forearm just as he lost his grip. Pulling him up and over the edge, they landed in a heap, breathing heavily. Jax stuck his head out over the top of the ship, smiling in relief.

"Guys, here." He tossed a rope down to the pair, who looked at it in sarcastic submission.

Neo and Binary walked slowly down the ramp of the Vigilant to the group who had just watched them almost plummet to their deaths. Binary stopped mid step and turned to look at Neo who was holding his right arm.

"Thank you."

"You'd do the same for me." Neo smiled gently before wincing in pain.

"Neo, why don't you go to the med lab, Tank can- Trinity will go with you." Morpheus quickly changed who would accompany him when he saw the look on Trinity's face.

Neo nodded once before following Trinity onto the Neb. Both couldn't help overhearing Binary's comment, "God, for a newbie, he sure put some major strength in pulling me up with only one arm to hold us both."

Upon entering the med lab, Neo sat down in a chair while Trinity went around to fill a needle with painkillers. Turning towards him, she walked over and pushed up his sleeve gently. Neo watched silently as Trinity administered the drugs in his plug and put the needle in the sink. Neo knew she was masking the fear that had been blatantly expressed only minutes beforehand. He knew how scared she was for him, and he knew she must have been working hard to keep herself under control. As she rolled his sleeve back down, Neo placed his left hand over hers. Trinity stopped and simply looked at his hand.

"I'm okay Trinity, I'm okay." Neo stood up and kissed her forehead softly.

"Neo, God." Trinity looked up at him before thumping her fist against his chest in frustration.

"I know." Neo pressed his forehead to hers, wrapping his not so sore arm around her shoulders.

Neo sat in the mess hall, his right arm in a makeshift sling, eating dinner with Vector and Binary. Binary looked at Neo for a moment before popping a seemingly random question laced with tension.

"Neo, did Trinity ever tell you about her past?"

Neo paused, his food halfway to his mouth before looking up to her eyes. Placing the spork in the dish, he shook his head. "Some things, but the past makes us who we are, it shouldn't affect us now."

"I know, but I was just wondering if she told you about her…personal life before you."

Neo's eyes flicked to Vector's before shaking his head again. He wasn't sure he should hear this…

"In the Matrix, she was what some would call an untouchable vixen: all wanted her, none got her. Once freed, Trinity spent only four months at the Academy, which was unusual, and went straight onto Morpheus's new ship, this ship. Once she found out about her future being entangled with a man she didn't even believe in, she did the only thing she was good at: she rebelled. For a month, with a fellow unplugged guy named Detrick." Binary paused, watching the darkening expression on Neo's face.

Vector picked up where Binary left off, his deep voice catching Neo's attention. "Detrick never forgot that month, and Trinity wished it had never happened. It took her a long time to visit him without the cloud of 'past times' hanging over her head. He loved her, and that month didn't help him any. After they had a huge apology, not three days later, in a routine check-up inside the Matrix, agents killed him. She took it so damn hard, because she believed his feelings for her got in the way of his concentration. After that, she really closed herself off to everyone, afraid that if she let them in, they would be killed."

"So, very few people believed the rumors of the One and Trinity's involvement with him. Many still deny it. But I just want to say, I saw the fear and calm love in her every movement today. Even when she was with Detrick, she held a part of herself away from him, knowing he wasn't who she should end up with. With you though, she's ready to give you everything. You can see it in her eyes when she doesn't know that you're watching. I just wanted to tell you, that you are truly blessed to be together." Vector finished, watching Neo's face intently.

Neo nodded. "Thank you. I should be off. I've got the graveyard shift tonight and I need to get sleep. Night."

Binary and Vector each said goodnight before glancing at one another.

Neo slumped down onto the bed, letting out an exhausted sigh before pulling the sling over his head and tossing it to the corner of the cabin. He cast a longing look down at Trinity, who had her eyes open in slits and was watching him silently._ We'll never have time for romance while on duty, will we?_ Neo thought, trailing his fingers down the distinctive curve of Trinity's angular hip. He could feel her tensing at the touch, heat radiating off of her in waves, and yet, he knew, _we can't do anything_.

"Trinity, is it true that you rebelled against what the Oracle told you once?" Neo asked, his hand coming to a tense rest on the outer curve of her thigh.

Trinity paused, taking in the question before sitting up, her legs moving away from Neo. "Who told you?"

"Vector and Binary. They seemed quite energetic about it too, now that I think about it." Neo replied, watching her face.

"Goddamn them. The only problem I ever had with Soren's crew was how much they liked to tell everyone's secrets to anyone who would listen. Goddamn gossips." Trinity shook her head, anger flushing her face.

"Well, is it true?" Neo asked, lowering his head to catch her down-turned eyes.

Trinity looked up and nodded. "They may gossip, but at least they only gossip when they know it's true. I was on the Nebuchadnezzar with Morpheus for one year before he even brought me to see the Oracle. By then, he told me later, he believed I could be the One. I wasn't about to believe that, mostly because I didn't give a rat's ass about the prophecy, but I went to see her without so much as a word. I wasn't disappointed in hearing that I wasn't the One, but I was shocked when she told me I would play an important role in his life. She told me I would love him, and that only my love for him would both save him and help him to believe himself.

"After hearing that, I did what I always did when I was angry about what I was told I would do. I rebelled against it. I knew Detrick liked me more than a normal friend probably should, and I guess you could say that in my anger of shoving the Oracle's prophecy down her throat, I exploited his emotions. I used him to rebel against my future, and later pushed him away. He took it silently and always gave me plenty of space. His steadfast friendship to me never wavered, even after I told him my future. I knew I hurt him in every way for that one month because I knew I didn't love him the way he wanted me to, and yet I still led him on. For a year, I was too ashamed of my actions to even speak to him. Then one day, I was in my cabin in Zion, and he walked in."

Trinity paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She smiled at Neo's silent reassurance when he squeezed her leg gently.

"He told me he was sorry. I was shocked. If anyone should've been sorry it should have been me, but he told me that he should never have let his emotions get the better of him in a time when I needed a friend. He told me he loved me then. I already knew, it was obvious, but somehow when he said it, it became real, and I knew that I didn't love him the same way back. When I said that to him, I could see his heart breaking, and yet, his voice remained level. He told me that he would always be there for me, he would always guide me, and he would accept the One when he was found, no matter how much it would hurt him…and then he was killed."

Neo nodded, smiling sadly. "You were lucky to have a friend like him."

"Neo, you know, all of the stuff that the Oracle told me, there was one thing she didn't say."

"What was that?" Neo looked at her, confusion written on his features.

"She never told me that you would love me back." Trinity looked down at her hands for a moment before feeling Neo's breath on her cheek.

"Doesn't matter whether she did or not now." He commented, brushing his lips against her cheek.

Trinity bit her lip upon feeling a rush of heat race through her veins. _God, how does he do that to me? I have never known a man who could undo my rational mind so quickly and tie my stomach in knots at the same time so easily. Actually, I've never known a man who did either of those things anyway._ Neo lifted his lips, placing a soft kiss on the side of her nose, and another above her eye. He could feel her shudder with pleasure, and knew he really shouldn't lead either of their bodies on, but found that he just had to taste her, no matter the consequences.

Trinity knew they should stop, before things went too far. Things could get out of hand easily. _Didn't things get out of hand when I met him? Seems a little late to worry about the warning label._ Trinity leaned her head back as Neo dropped a few kisses down towards her ear and further south along her neck. _This could prove to be a better night than I thought it would..._


	17. Looking at Green Code Girl

Tank slipped into the med lab, his eyes carefully watching the sleeping Axel. Moving around the table, he sat on a stool next to the sink. Wincing, he pulled up his shirt to reveal a dirty bandage covering his wound. Peeling it off, Tank bit his lip as he felt the newly formed skin being pulled off with the bandage. Letting out a ragged breath once the bandage was off, Tank tossed it in the trash before he grabbed a nearby sponge. Dampening it with water and soap, he gently cleansed his wound. Looking down at it, he could see his wound was clearly infected.

Groaning at the new knowledge, Tank leaned back to calm his nerves. Standing up, he grabbed a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and poured it on a cloth. Pushing it on his wound, he gasped at the pain, knowing it was cleaning the wound. _Doesn't make it feel any better knowing that. Goddamn, I'm going to have to tell Morpheus now if I want to survive._ Tank shook his head before dumping the red tinged cloth in the trash and grabbing a clean bandage. Rubbing healing ointment on it, he placed the bandage on the wound before carefully taping it in place.

Dropping his shirt back down, Tank turned to leave, only to find Axel's eyes watching him silently. Tank moved towards the table slowly, almost casually.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm all right. Everything feels kind of fluffy right now, but I'm quite sure my eyes weren't lying to me just a moment ago. That was a nasty wound you have there, Tank. I don't want you to go home under a blanket because of your chivalry. I know you well enough to know that you would let yourself get gangrene before you spoke a word to Morpheus." Axel replied, his words slightly slurred due to the high doses of medication in his system.

"I know. I'm going to talk to him tomorrow. Don't worry about me Axel. Now you get some rest, it won't do you any good to be bedridden any longer than you need to be. Night." Tank placed a hand on Axel's shoulder, patting it twice before moving around to the door.

"Night man."

* * *

"That's the girl?" Soren asked Neo, looking over his shoulder at the consoles.

Neo had heard his entrance, so he wasn't unsettled by Soren's sudden appearance. Not taking his eyes from the screen, Neo nodded.

"What's her name?"

"Hunter. Pretty good at hacking too." Neo replied, tapping a corner screen to pull up her file.

"You like watching her don't you?" Soren asked solemnly. Neither heard Trinity's silent descent down the ladder to the core as Neo shrugged.

"I've actually never watched someone before. This is new to me. I don't know what's normal to see for a person searching for the truth."

"You should. You did once. That's why you're sitting here, watching her. We have all been there, and seeing yet another mind searching for what we did with the same kind of passion, it stirs hope in one's soul." Soren continued, obviously just conversing with no real motive, just to talk with someone.

Neo had never been one to talk much. He spoke when needed, and even then only as much as he had to. His voice never rose a single octave- something Tank told him was odd- and not much upset him. But he sat here now, talking freeing with a captain of another ship.

"I guess. Trinity and I have never really spoken about that." Neo remarked. It seemed to him lately that most everyone wanted to talk to him about his relationship with Trinity. Not in a bad way mind you, but just to talk about it, in general. He was getting to the point where he just didn't want to talk to other people about it anymore.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure many people have already made many inquiries about you two. I'm quite happy for both of you; I would like you to know that. I'll retire to my quarters for the night. Oh and, Neo?" Soren paused, waiting for Neo to look up at him. "Don't get too consumed by the coppertop to forget what you hold in your arms each night. No enslaved mind is worth forgetting what you have."

Neo felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards for a brief moment as Soren left. Soren turned around to see the ever-vigilant eyes of Trinity looking at him. Nodding once in her direction, he made his way to the ladder and climbed down to the lower decks. Neo sat silently in his chair, watching the rain of coding fall down the screen before feeling Trinity behind him. _Amazing, I can feel her presence now._ A hand dropped to his shoulder, warm breath tickled his ear. No words were needed at the moment; just the calming presence of the other was desired. Minutes passed in silence until Neo felt Trinity's body tense slightly. Turning at the change, Neo looked up into her face, his eyes searching hers for any answers even before he spoke.

"What's wrong?"

"You're watching her the same way I watched you." Trinity answered simply.

"How's that?" Neo could hear the pain in the statement, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"Even when someone enters the room, you never break your gaze from the screens. It's just odd I guess to see you doing it." Trinity shrugged, her calm exterior a mask of the inner turmoil.

"Hey, I won't fall for Green Code Girl behind me, okay? I already fell for the woman in front of me." Neo replied, standing from the operator's chair in the process. Placing his hands on her shoulders, Neo drew Trinity closer.

Trinity moved her shoulders slightly, causing Neo's grip to loosen. "How hard?" Her eyes flicked up to meet his, uncertainty escaping the ice-blueness of them.

Neo was slightly taken aback at the question. _Trinity? Uncertain?_ "She's no older than fifteen, give me a break." Neo pointed out, watching a smile play with Trinity's lips at his statement.

Neo looked up as he heard the approach of Morpheus. A silent understanding passed between them before Neo and Trinity left the core, their captain taking Neo's vigilant position at the console.

* * *

The cold of the night brought about a tighter grip of the others' body in Neo and Trinity's cabin. When morning broke through in the form of overhead lights, Trinity blinked the sleep from her eyes before feeling Neo stir next to her. Nudging his body against hers slightly, Neo allowed a lazy smile to unfold across his face.

"Hey, I wanted to say something more to you last night, but sleep seemed more important." Neo began, sitting up slightly, pulling a blanket with him.

"What was that?" Apprehension was hidden in the question, as Trinity wrapped another blanket around her shoulders and sat with her back against the wall, Neo's legs across her thighs.

"When I was still plugged into the Matrix, there was one thing I always believed in even after I stopped being religious. Faith lies in your heart, not your mind. Many things must be decided with your mind daily, but faith never will be one of those things. My faith in you, in us, is something that will never waver, never weaken. I love you, I always will." Neo's eyes had been glued to the floor until his last sentence, where they flicked up to Trinity's eyes, unwavering as the final words left his mouth.

It wasn't the truth in Neo's words, or the love in his eyes that caused the final wall of fear in Trinity's mind to collapse. Rather, it was the emotion causing his voice to carry a tremor in it as he spoke and the way his body shook slightly with raw passion barely being controlled. _We definitely need a trip to Zion soon._ The thought bounced sarcastically around in Trinity's mind before she leaned forward to envelope Neo in a tight embrace.

"Time to go- oh, sorry, I just thought you two would be up by now." Tank's bright face flushed upon seeing Neo and Trinity hugging.

"We are up Tank." Trinity replied shortly, pulling from Neo to grab her boots. "We'll be down in the core right after we eat." Tank nodded once and left, a quick smirk gracing his features before the door shut completely. "Now I know what Switch meant."

"What do you mean?" Neo turned from buckling his boot to look at Trinity.

"She used to tell me how Tank would barge in on them in the most embarrassing of times, without knocking. I never understood what she meant by it until now. He really does know how to pick the perfect time to walk in." Trinity shook her head in humor before standing.

"Well, at least we weren't…" Neo trailed off, his eyes darting around Trinity before meeting her gaze.

"Oh no, he won't walk in on us and live to speak of it afterwards if he does. Are you ready?" Trinity turned to leave as Neo stood.

* * *

"That should do it." Vector turned off his torch and lifted his helmet, a smile gracing his face.

"Are we done?" Soren asked, appearing on the ramp, a bin of metal scraps in his hands.

"Yeah." Vector climbed down, carrying the torch onto the Vigilant.

"Good, I'll go inform Morpheus." Soren handed Jax the bin and left, calling over his shoulder, "Make sure Axel's settled before I return."

Climbing the ramp of the Nebuchadnezzar, Soren saw a chaste kiss from Trinity placed on Neo's lips before she left for the med lab, most likely to re-bandage the wound he had been told she had received the day his ship was attacked. Moving through the ship, Soren found Morpheus at the console, watching for sentinel activity as well as watching Hunter.

"Well Morpheus, thanks to you and your crew, we are as good as new. I am indebted to you. Good luck with Hunter." Soren placed a strong hand in Morpheus' and shook it.

"Good luck. Take care." Morpheus smiled kindly as Soren turned and left.

The Vigilant shuddered to life after several days of rest and left the Nebuchadnezzar within moments.


	18. Trust in others

Days turned into weeks as the Nebuchadnezzar bustled with excitement waiting as the day of meeting Hunter came closer. When it had finally arrived, Neo and Trinity entered the Matrix after Trinity had hacked into Hunter's computer and told her to meet them in a local bar. Striding silently into the bar, Neo saw the girl first, barely fifteen, and looking quite scared as a man leered at her, his beer spilling down his shirt. Trinity strode forward and handed the obviously drunk man a twenty to get him away. He took a look at the black leather, a smile spreading across his features before he saw the black clad figure next to her and he scuttled away, smart even when drunk.

Turning towards the girl, Trinity removed her glasses. She paused to watch as Neo's eyes scanned the crowd once before giving her a nod and slipping further into the crowd. Trinity looked back at the shivering girl, who had her eyes glued to the spot Neo had left. Trinity eyed the girl before beginning.

"Hunter." The girl's face expressed fear, not uncommon, along with a question in her eyes.

"Who are you? Both of you?"

"My name is Trinity. The man I came with is Neo." Trinity replied stoically, smiling inwardly at the look of shock upon the girl's face.

"You two…you…oh my God." A pause, before her eyes again met the other woman's. "What are you doing here? You hacked my computer earlier, didn't you? Why?"

"You ever feel that this world was more real when you dreamed?" The girl nodded. "Ever been able to form a question from that feeling?"

"What is the Matrix?" The girl asked, her face full of wonder.

"Do you want that question to be answered?" Another nod. "Then meet us tomorrow night at the Downtown Café. Eight pm- don't be late."

Trinity turned to leave only to have the girl grab her arm. Turning around in question, Trinity looked at the girl as she felt Neo coming nearer.

"Will I meet Morpheus?"

Trinity didn't open her mouth to speak, allowing Neo to instead.

"We guarantee it. See you tomorrow Hunter." Neo's shielded eyes hid any emotion from seeping out, allowing his gentle smile to calm the girl's nerves instead. Trinity knew that Neo would never lose the innocence in his eyes, and that was a weakness in the Matrix. For the moment, she was silently thankful that Hunter couldn't see the soft brown eyes and become even more enraptured with him.

Turning together, Trinity put her glasses back on and walked out side-by-side with Neo, leaving an amazed and bewildered fifteen-year-old girl behind them.

* * *

"She likes you." The sentence was blunt and to the point. Neo looked up from his dinner in the mess hall at Trinity's way of starting conversation.

"What makes you say that?" Neo allowed the spork to move aimlessly around in the bowl before dropping it with a satisfying 'clank'.

"I've been unplugged for fifteen years, Neo. I learned a long time ago to pick up on minute details." Trinity sat down across from him, clasping her hands together atop the table.

Neo was silent for a moment before opening his mouth to speak, a small smile playing at the edges of his mouth. "Feeling jealous?"

Trinity titled her head to one side, arching her eyebrow. "Don't start that shit with me." She smiled at the look of shock on Neo's face before continuing. "If she does anything, please do not try to stop me from making my point clear."

"Oh you know I won't. You'll attack me instead if I tried." Neo allowed a small smile to escape his lips, watching the crinkle at the side of Trinity's eyes as she smiled too.

Both looked up as the door squeaked open, revealing a worried Morpheus. He looked at the couple before closing the door and moving to be able to look at them both. Neo and Trinity eyed one another for a moment before Morpheus spoke.

"Did either of you know about Tank's wound and how it's not only still bad, but infected?" Trinity shook her head, causing Morpheus to look at Neo, who nodded shortly. "You knew and you weren't going to tell me?"

Trinity turned her head quickly to look at Neo, her brow furrowing.

"He-" Neo paused, sighing in frustration. "He didn't want me to tell you because he hates hospitals and he told me that he would be fine. I hadn't been unplugged long to really say he was wrong in not telling you."

"Wait. When did you find out about this?" Morpheus inquired upon hearing how Neo had phrased his reply.

Neo squirmed slightly, knowing his response would only infuriate both parties present. "A month ago."

"A month? My God, Neo. Why don't you sign his death warrant right now?" Morpheus waved his hand, anger fueling his words.

Neo winced at Morpheus's reaction, and was, quite simply, afraid to look at Trinity. His own emotions were bubbling beneath his calm exterior, and he knew that Trinity could see it.

"Look, I trusted that he would be able to take care of it. I trusted that he would get help, to tell you. Isn't that what this is all about? We need to trust each other."

"Goddammit Neo. Trust can only go so-"

"No. It goes to the end. It's the reason why everything works!" Neo stood, his own anger desiring to be unleashed. "If people can't trust each other, then why do we even try to fight a war against machines when we have ourselves to fight with? There is no peace if there is no trust Morpheus. So don't you tell me that trust only goes so far." Neo took a breath before turning and leaving.

"Neo-" Morpheus called out, his features softening. The captain looked helplessly to his silent Second-in-Command, who only shook her head as Neo pulled the door open and left.

Silence reigned for a moment before Morpheus sighed and took Neo's now empty seat at the table.

"I hope you understand why I acted the way I did. I never meant to upset him." Morpheus ran a hand over his bare scalp, feeling Trinity should receive his apology first. "I just don't want to lose anyone else. If Neo had told me when he found out-"

"What's wrong?" Trinity asked, her voice soft- a tone Morpheus had never heard from her before. _Neo really must have really had an effect on her._

"I think its gangrene. It might have been adverted earlier, but now...I don't know. We have to return to Zion right after Hunter is unplugged. He needs medical attention."

"Neo only did what he believed he should do. He put trust in the man who holds our lives in his hands daily. If he was told not to say anything, then he wouldn't. Neo's like that. It's something we all lost a long time ago." Trinity answered calmly, her voice still soaked in silky softness.

"What is that?" Morpheus leaned forward, intrigued.

"Complete and utter trust in someone you barely know. He had to trust us all almost immediately. All of us were given at least some time to get to know each other." Trinity leaned back, stretching her arms.

"Yes. I agree. He had to solidify his relationships with all of us almost instantly." Morpheus nodded, his eyes watching Trinity. "I never thanked you."

Trinity looked up in surprise. "For what?"

"For giving him hope. There are many things I can go on about in a river of words, but my gratitude for you being with Neo is not one of those things. Tomorrow, I'll have a more levelheaded talk with him. Tonight, try to calm him down. His fury doesn't burst out often, and when it does, I would assume he'd want to get rid of it completely." Morpheus smiled gently and stood to leave.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Trinity inquired, standing quickly to follow him out.

"I mean whatever way you decide to take it. Good night Trinity." Morpheus replied upon arriving at his cabin.

Trinity watched him disappear inside before passing Tank's door and finally arriving at hers and Neo's. Trinity paused outside, placing her warm palm on the cold, metal handle a moment before turning it. Slipping into the room, she saw Neo sitting on the bed; his legs stretched out, his boots apparently thrown across the room in frustration. His head had lolled back and his eyes were closed. After she shut the door, Trinity sat down to take off her boots. When she had finished, Neo still hadn't opened his eyes. Trinity could tell he wasn't asleep, just merely trying to calm his nerves.

"Neo?" Trinity watched as he slowly opened his eyes. For a moment, she was taken aback at the sudden look of hunger that passed across his delicate features. Recovering, she continued, "Feeling better now?"

Neo let out a snort before placing his hands on either side of his legs and pushing his body into a more upright position. Trinity could tell he didn't want to talk. If anything, the look he had given her upon opening his eyes said everything about what he'd rather do. _Well, Morpheus did say he'd probably want to get all of his fury out at once instead of keeping it in._ Trinity scooted closer to Neo, practically feeling the desire emanating off of his skin. _God, can't we hold off just one more week?_

Neo lifted his lids to gain a better view of Trinity. His fury was being fueled by more than just anger at his mentor. He and Trinity had no real privacy. A passion-laced kiss could easily send them over the edge of caring what others heard- or saw. A gentle caress could lead to the passion-laced kiss. There were no winners. Morpheus occasionally expected too much from him. He may be invincible inside the Matrix, but he was only a man outside of it. _A man who has desires just like any other man, and they can only be held back so long before they break free._

Neo watched Trinity sizing him up, her own cravings glimmering in her eyes. _She was always the stronger out of the two us. I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up stopping me._ Neo chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to calm his racing heart. _My God, all she's done is sat down, looked at me, and moved five inches closer. She hasn't even touched me yet and I'm on fire. Amazing._ Neo paused a moment longer, regarding Trinity before suddenly moving forward and capturing her lips with his own. Reaching a hand out to cradle the back of her neck, Neo pulled Trinity towards him, her body easily sliding over his, straddling his thighs.

Sighing against his mouth, Trinity allowed a hand to slide down Neo's arm before gripping it tightly when his own hands moved down across her back. Trinity broke their kiss and whispered in a hushed tone, "Let it out." _Oh God, let it out._ Neo looked into her eyes for a moment before giving his agreement in the form of a soft kiss on her jaw. Trinity closed her eyes at the touch, running her free hand through Neo's spiky hair. He had told her that he wanted to grow it back out to the length it was in the Matrix, and she had had no arguments. She had always wanted to run her hands through the thick mass of dark hair that had crowned his head.

Feeling his body shift slightly beneath her, Trinity straightened herself above him, edging closer. Neo's eyes widened and he groaned as her inner thigh grazed a rather sensitive part of his body. Grinding slowly against him, Trinity could feel the fire uncurling within her stomach before his lips searched and found hers in a fierce kiss. Pulling away, Neo took a breath and lifted his eyes to look at her closed lids.

"Less than a week." The words held no desire to be followed.

Trinity looked him in the eyes and nodded slowly before lifting herself off of him. Yes, just a few more days and they would be unburdened. They would be free from the rigors of war, and be able to let go completely.


	19. Taking hits and paying the price

Neo smirked at seeing Hunter in the café, her eyes glued to the door, a glass of soda next to her. Her eyes watched as Neo's arm pushed the door open and allowed Trinity to walk through first. She watched as they moved towards her silently. She watched until she stood and followed them without so much as a word. Exiting, Neo and Trinity moved to either side of Hunter, flanking her. Hunter's eyes widened when they stopped in front of a black car parked on a side street.

Neo opened the back door to let her in before shutting it again and moving around to the driver's side of the car. As he did this, Trinity slid into the passenger's seat. Turning the car on, Neo glanced back in his rearview mirror at the girl for a moment before shifting gears and driving off. Silence reigned for several minutes before Hunter leaned forward, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Where are we going?"

"A place where your questions will be answered." Trinity replied cryptically.

Hunter nodded, deciding not to ask another question. Instead, she watched as Neo calmly navigated the dark streets, immediately turning where Trinity pointed. No words passed between the pair until a man in a suit walked into the middle of the street.

"Oh shit. Neo, get us out of here." Trinity turned to look back, an agent car speeding up until it slammed into the back of their car. "Now!"

Neo slammed on the accelerator, hitting the agent as he did so. The agent flipped over the car and landed behind them in a flash of green coding. Breathing a sigh of relief, Trinity turned back around only to flinch as a bullet ripped through the glass of her window. Her hand flew to her cheek when she felt the sting of a graze wound.

"Are you all right?" Neo asked, concern evident in his voice. Hunter bristled at his obvious attention to Trinity, but ignored it for the moment.

"Just keep driving." Neo swerved around another car before it changed direction and slammed into his side, causing him to come to an abrupt halt upon T-boning a parked car. "Okay, running is better now."

Trinity got out, grabbing Hunter's arm the moment she had opened her door. Neo walked quickly around to meet them as they entered the first building they came to. Running up the stairs, Neo flipped open his cell phone.

"Tank, a little help?" Trinity watched as a scowl appeared on Neo's usually calm features. "All right, thanks." Shutting the phone, Neo looked at Trinity. "No way out now."

"Take her, you can safely get the two of you out of here. I'll find another way." Trinity handed Hunter to Neo.

"I'm not leaving you." Neo's eyes focused on the crimson blood still flowing freely on Trinity's cheek, his voice stubborn.

"You're going to have to. This happens, we get separated. I can handle myself. Now, go!" Trinity turned and continued up the stairs.

Hunter watched Neo cast a longing gaze at the retreating back of his counterpart before he looked at her. "Let's go."

* * *

"I just picked Hunter up, Neo. You can come out now." Tank called over the cell phone.

"Where's Trinity?" Neo replied, his eyes still on the empty chair.

"She's not with you?"

Neo let out an exasperated sigh before telling Tank to send the call through to get Morpheus out. Morpheus looked at Neo before grabbing the phone. "Find her."

Neo nodded once as his captain's RSI disappeared before running out to the stairs. Climbing to the roof, Neo looked out over the streets below him. Bending down, Neo pushed the rules away and flew up into the sky. Once at a height he deemed high enough, Neo looked down, reading the coding, his eyes were seeking only one specific strand. One strand deeply entangled with billions of others. Suddenly, Neo jerked his head, seeing the familiar strand. Blinking the coding away, Neo flew down, landing just outside the gym. It was closed, but Neo entered nonetheless.

Pocketing his glasses upon entering the pitch-black building, Neo listened for any sound. Hearing a muffled crash, Neo ran towards a door near the back of the room. Pushing it open, as it was already broken, Neo saw pieces of workout equipment broken and strewn everywhere. Continuing further in, the sounds of a struggle grew. Neo slammed open the final door, barging into a weight room. The two figures paused before one threw the other, smaller figure against the wall, and proceeded to move towards Neo.

Neo shifted his stance upon seeing Agent Brown's coding. He could hear the almost inaudible moan escape Trinity's lips- he had apparently been purposefully beating her. Neo clenched his hands into tight fists and gritted his teeth.

"Mr. Anderson, how nice of you to join us." Brown swung, missing as Neo bent backwards.

Neo's anger at the pain Trinity was in due to Brown kept him from hearing the second approach of Jones. Slamming fist after fist into Brown, he finally sent the agent flying across the room. Jones cleared his throat the moment he had finished, causing Neo to spin around, seeing Trinity, yet again, at gunpoint.

"You notice, that each time you encounter us, this seems to happen. It is quite the predicament." Jones smiled evilly as Brown slammed a fist into his back.

Neo dropped to a knee. His hand shot out, grabbing the foot that was to kick him, and flattened Brown to the floor. Standing, he regarded Jones tiredly. Jones' face contorted and he swung his arm down, pulling the trigger. Trinity cried out in pain as the bullet ripped through her foot. Neo stepped forward, his heart clenching in fear and pain.

"If you move forward or fight back, the next bullet will reside in her brain." Neo lowered his head at the statement. His eyes found Trinity's, speaking volumes without trace of a sound. _You better hurry and come up with a plan._ Trinity nodded slightly before her eyes widened- Neo's only warning for the fist that connected with his neck.

Neo stumbled forward, only to have the collar of his new Matrix garb, a Japanese burial outfit, grabbed by Brown, yanking him back. Coughing at the loss of oxygen, Neo flew backward as Brown slammed a fist into his face. Neo could feel the warm blood drip down from his nose; he could feel the metallic taste of it in his mouth. His eyes glared up at Brown even as a kick made a sickening crunch in his ribs. Trinity flinched at the sound, causing Jones to shift slightly. As he did, Trinity flipped him over her shoulder and kicked him with her good foot. The gun flew up into the air and she grabbed it. Without so much as a moment's pause, Trinity fired it into Jones's head and then fired again- causing Brown's onslaught to come to an electrifying end.

Neo's eyes found hers across the room before he slowly stood up. Wincing at every step he made towards her, Neo smiled weakly once he wrapped his arms around her. When he finally pulled away, Neo withdrew his cell phone. Dialing Tank, he was immediately given directions to walk back out to the entrance room where a phone was to exit. Neo closed the phone and looked at Trinity.

"Tell me it isn't far."

The ring of the phone in the lobby caused a grin to spread across Neo's face.

"No, not too far."

* * *

"My God. Morpheus, get out here now!" Tank yelled over the intercom.

Neo groaned as Tank quickly unplugged him. Falling out of his chair, he landed on the metal floor with a painful 'thunk'. For the moment, Neo welcomed the unfeeling black that surrounded his senses while Trinity cried out in pain as Tank carried her to the med lab. As Morpheus moved around him, Tank looked up.

"Neo's out cold. He knocked himself out when he fell onto the floor." Morpheus nodded and ran out.

Through all of the pain, Trinity still grasped Tank's sentence and bit out fragments of a question to him. "Tank...Neo...he...okay?"

"Rest Trinity, Neo will be fine." Tank ran a soothing hand over her forehead before administering a sleeping medicine.

He watched as her face went slack and her body relaxed before gathering the necessities for cleaning her wounds. Tank looked up from taking off Trinity's boot as Morpheus pushed the door open, Neo slung over his shoulder. Laying him on the last free table, Morpheus split his shirt in half, his eyes taking in the already dark bruises on Neo's ribcage.

* * *

Trinity opened her eyes, a fuzzy haze surrounding her, keeping her from being completely alert. Shaking her head slightly, Trinity heard two separate heart monitors beeping rhythmically. Turning to look at the other bodies, Trinity felt the pain from both her injuries and from seeing Neo's bruised torso. He was sleeping soundly, hopefully all right from the fall out of the chair. Lying back down, Trinity drifted back into sleep.

* * *

Neo's lids slid open slowly, taking in the familiar pattern of his ceiling. As he became more aware of his surroundings, Neo felt both the comforting weight of Trinity lying next to him and the pain in his stomach. Looking up, he saw two IV bags hanging, one for each of them. As his eyes slowly traveled down to Trinity's sleeping form, he felt a pang of guilt at her bandaged foot, His eyes continued traveling up her body, taking in the bruises and cuts that had surfaced from her stand against Agent Brown. As she took in a deep breath and moved her head, Neo's gaze darted to her face, watching her eyes open. They looked around the room for a moment before turning to settle on Neo.

"Hey." Trinity slowly blinked; sleep drifting out of her eyes.

"Hey." Neo smiled gently. "How are you feeling?"

_Ah Neo, still thinking of others' health before your own. Will you never change?_ "Better. My foot doesn't hurt too much, in fact, I'm not sure it's even there, I can't feel it."

"It's there." Neo suppressed a laugh at her statement.

"How about you? You took quite a beating in there." Trinity switched the topic as she attempted to sit up. Finding it near impossible, she flopped back down with an exasperated sigh.

"It- everything hurts. I think they bruised a few ribs. My jaw is definitely banged up, I'm not sure what else." Neo lifted his hand to rub at his stubble-covered jaw, rubbing it gently. "I need to shave."

"You need to heal. Shaving will come later." Morpheus cut in, opening the door at Neo's statement. "For your information, Hunter's muscles are recovering quite remarkably. She's a welcome change from your body when we unplugged you." Morpheus informed the pair, looking at Neo.

"Why is that?"

"As your body grows older in a pod, all of your muscles begin to atrophy. They are never used, thus they fall apart. The younger the body, the less damage there is to repair."

"Oh." Neo was silent for a moment before looking back up at Morpheus. "Can you tell us what our injuries are?"

"You have sustained four badly bruised ribs, your jaw was a huge bruise; it's much better now. Your spine is bruised from Brown's punch, as are both of your forearms. Trinity, before I even start, you are bedridden until we arrive in Zion. There, you will be brought to the hospital and will stay there until you have been cleared to leave. As of right now, you have been lucky; the Matrix bullet has bruised both the muscles within your foot and the bones. Your ribs and collarbone are both bruised and you sustained a concussion. Other than that, you have multiple bruises and cuts; the worst is the bullet graze on your cheek, which I was surprised when it showed up, but Link told me it was actually from him accidentally dropping one of the medical instruments. Now, Neo, when you are ready, I'll meet you in the core." Morpheus took a breath after the long list before turning and exiting.

Neo looked at Trinity's angry expression for a moment before taking the IV out of his plug and climbing out of the bed. Standing slowly, Neo kept an arm at his ribs as he found his shirts. Sitting back down, he carefully pulled each individual shirt over his head and proceeded to poke his arms out. Leaning down to grab his boots, Neo drew back, hissing quietly.

"What's wrong?" Trinity asked, alarm evident in her voice.

"I seem to be having a difficult time getting my shoes." Neo replied, turning to look back at her, a smile upon his face.

"Quite the predicament you are in. You may have to stay here."

"Yee Gods no. Stuck here, with you? I'd rather be fed to a sentinel." Neo joked, smiling. _Joking with Trinity is definitely different._ As Trinity smiled back at him, she held out her hand.

"Stand up, go get them, and give them to me." The order was received with an arched eyebrow before Neo did as he was told.

Placing the shoes next to Trinity so as not to cause her any discomfort in reaching, Neo stood at the edge of the bed, watching intently. Trinity grabbed one boot and motioned for Neo to stretch out his foot. _I cannot believe I am dressing him. What am I, his slave?_ Trinity thought, a quiver of anger shooting through her before the counter statement to her question popped into her head. _Not at all, I'm his lifeline._ Smiling softly as his foot slid into the heel of the boot, Trinity began to buckle it up. Switching feet, Trinity finished the process before waving him away.

"Go on. Just don't forget to bring some food back later." Trinity watched as Neo nodded and turned towards the door. When he stopped at it, Trinity opened her mouth in question. "What is it?"

Neo turned from the door, casting an eye upon Trinity's anxious figure. Moving forward silently, ignoring Trinity's question, Neo placed a hand on either side of Trinity, bracing himself before he brushed his lips against hers. The kiss was soft, gentle almost. Pulling away slowly, Neo felt Trinity's calm breathing upon his face- a world apart from the fierce beating of her heart. _In almost two months,_ Neo mused,_ I not only can sense the electric interior that opposes her calm exterior, but also know that only I am the cause of it._

Trinity slowly opened her eyes before closing her mouth and swallowing rather audibly. "Well," Her eyes flicked up from his mouth to his eyes. "You'd better go."

Neo's own eyes dipped back down to Trinity lips before he swallowed the urge to kiss her again and straightened up, his intent clearly to leave. This time, when he got to the door, he didn't hesitate and exited swiftly. His pace wasn't quick due to his ribs, and the climb up to the core was a painfully slow one. Dropping onto the floor, Neo turned to see Morpheus walking from the direction of the med lab.

"Neo, I'm glad to see you, I was hoping I could speak with you privately." Morpheus smiled the paternal smile Neo knew so well.

"Sure, what is it?" Neo inquired as he moved slowly around the monitors towards the jack-in chairs, following Morpheus. Morpheus handed him a set of tools and proceeded to sit down beside what used to be Apoc's plug-in chair before replying.

"What do you believe in? For this war I mean."

Neo was surprised at how direct the question was, and at the same time, befuddled by how extremely broad the answer could turn out to be. Neo thought for a moment as to just how he could respond to the question before actually doing so.

"That is too general of a question for me to answer easily."

"What makes you keep going? I watch you when you are inside the Matrix and when you are outside of it, and I can only gain an inkling as to why you continue when even you yourself cannot see the end." Morpheus rephrased.

"The possibility of an end. It's the fact that there is no infinity when it comes to life and war. It has to end somewhere. Where, I don't know. When, I don't know. I'm just satisfied with the knowledge that it _does_ end." Neo answered, his words taking form as he thought of them.

"For a moment there, I actually thought you would say that Trinity kept you going." Morpheus smiled.

Neo allowed the edges of his mouth to twist upward for a moment before responding. "Trinity is- my motivation."

Morpheus nodded his head in understanding but decided not to press the subject any further. Returning to look at the underside of the chair, Morpheus began working on various pieces that had been denied a proper repair for far too long. Neo watched silently for a moment before placing the rest of the tools beside his captain and wandered off in the direction of the med lab. Arriving a few moments later, Neo took in the sight of Tank pulling out pins from Hunter's cloth-covered body.

"What's that?" Neo inquired, keeping the laugh from escaping his lips when Tank jumped at his sudden appearance.

"These help make your muscles react, thus rebuild them." Tank explained once he had calmed his racing pulse.

"How's she doing?" Neo moved towards the table and placed his hands on the edges, resting his weight.

"All right considering. She's only woken up once, and that was a relatively interesting experience."

"Why do you say that?" Neo looked up from the young face in question.

"She was freaking from her eyes hurting and seeing these in her. I thought it was funny afterwards, once she was asleep again, but I felt so bad for her because I was the only one here and she didn't really recognize me. I was the 'guy who wrapped her in a blanket and put her in the med lab.' Nobody special."

"Yet." Neo smiled softly.

"Are you saying she may take a shining towards ol' Tank here?" Tank laughed at the idea and dropped another pin into the solution.

"Who can resist? You're a genuinely good person. Trusting you was easy for me, it should be easy for her." Neo looked down at the sleeping form once again before turning to leave.

"Thank you."

Neo turned at the unexpected reply. "For what?"

"For everything. I've never been much for words, more of loud exclamations and huge sighs of relief. So, thank you." Tank smiled gratefully at Neo who only nodded before leaving.


	20. Hold on to those we love

"Dinner is now being served." Neo proclaimed upon returning to his and Trinity's cabin three hours later. Apparently, Morpheus had let them sleep throughout most of the day before coming to check on whether either was awake.

As his eyes lifted from the careful balancing act he was performing with only one hand, Neo saw Trinity sleeping peacefully. Closing the door as quietly as he could, Neo placed the tray on the floor and slowly took his boots off. Wincing, but never making a sound, Neo pulled them both off in less than five minutes, an accomplishment in his mind considering how bad his ribs felt. Slowly making his way under the covers, Neo felt Trinity move next to him and he froze, afraid of waking her. When she settled into a more comfortable position by stretching her arm out on Neo's pillow, Neo let out a small sigh.

Lying down, Neo lifted Trinity's arm and as carefully as he could, moved it down so he could lay his head upon the pillow. Once he had finished, he welcomed sleep much like a man welcomes the end to a good day of working in the fields. His sleep was a mixture of blues and reds, of yellows and greens. He couldn't focus on any one thing at any one time and as he woke from his fitful sleep, Neo saw a pair of ice blue eyes, softened by his awakening, looking down at him.

"Morpheus came in about twenty minutes ago, we'll be arriving in Zion in less than an hour." Trinity informed him.

"How long did I sleep?" Neo blinked at the bright lights above him, and only succeeded in regaining his sight by rubbing both hands over his face and eyes.

"All night, as did I. I saw the dinner you had brought back for me this morning and thought about waking you, but you looked so peaceful I decided not to. My stomach can live another hour without the lovely food of this ship taking up residence in it."

* * *

Neo held Trinity's hand as she was brought through the tunnels that made up Zion to the hospital. Morpheus had told him to stay with her, a command that didn't need to be voiced, and explained that as soon as Hunter was put in her room in the Academy, he would come by to visit. Tank had followed the pair out and was being whisked away by another group of doctors to the emergency wing. Within moments of being brought into a nameless room, Neo watched as Trinity was deftly picked up and transported to a medical bed, doctors swarming around her.

A nurse came over and gently began to bring him out of the room, much to his disappointment. He left without a struggle and merely nodded silently when the nurse told him that he would be able to visit her once the doctors were done. Neo stood looking through the glass pane in the door for a moment before wandering off in search of Tank's whereabouts. As he roamed down the corridors, obviously lost, Neo accidentally walked into Zee.

"Hey, sorry I didn't see you there." Neo placed a hand on her arm as she bounced backwards.

"Quite all right. Are you on your way to see Tank?" Zee looked up at Neo, smiling gently, hiding her fear.

"Yeah. I was told I couldn't visit Trinity right now so I decided to see how Tank was. Do you know where he is?" Neo explained quickly as they began to walk towards a lift.

"Next level, room 901." Zee stepped into the lift and pressed for level nine.

When they arrived a few moments later, Neo allowed Zee to exit first and promptly followed her down the hall. When they came upon Tank's room, several doctors were rushing in and out of it. Neo could see Tank's unconscious body lying still on the emergency table and noticed cuts already being made around the burn wound. Neo's medical knowledge didn't expand any further than knowing that gangrene wasn't a common cause of death anymore. Turning to Zee, Neo saw her as the loving sister that she was. Her hand was clutched against her chest, worry apparent in her eyes as she watched her only living brother being operated on.

Neo looked around the halls before he settled his eyes back on Zee. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Neo closed his eyes for moment as she jumped at the sudden realization that he was still there. Taking his hand away, Neo looked down at her with concern.

"Is someone coming by here so that you won't be alone?"

"Cas is coming now and Link will be by when his ship docks, which will be tomorrow." Zee rubbed her arms, warming them up slightly. "I know you want to return to Trinity. I'll be fine. Go on."

"Are you sure? 'Cause if you'd like, I'll stay." Neo looked Zee in the eyes, making sure she wouldn't mind him leaving.

"Love is an uncontrollable being. It will keep you warm and safe. Trinity needs that right now, as does Tank. I'm here for him, you need to be there for her." Zee smiled gently as Neo nodded and left. Turning back towards the window, Zee could only hope that the war would not claim another part of her family.

* * *

Neo tried his hardest not to run, but once he was back on the floor where Trinity was, he jogged to the nearest station. Upon asking for the room number where Trinity was staying, Neo walked swiftly down the halls, his eyes looking at every number as he passed each room. Coming to Trinity's room, he found the door halfway shut and a nurse sitting outside knitting. Her eyes flipped up to meet his and upon seeing him cast a longing gaze at the door, waved him in. Entering the room, Neo found Morpheus standing over her, talking quietly. They both turned to see Neo moving towards the bed.

"Tank's being operated on." Neo announced to the pair as he placed a hand on the table next to Trinity's bed. "After a nurse more or less kicked me out of here, I ran into Zee and we went to see Tank. All I could see was several cuts made around his wound. I don't really know what they're doing, but I hope he makes it. I offered to stay with Zee, but she told me it was all right because Cas was coming, so I left. After making several inquisitions around here, I finally found my way back." Neo took a breath and watched as worry spread over Morpheus' face.

"He must be in more critical condition than I thought. I'll go keep an eye on him. Depending on how long his recovery is, we may have to either stay here quite some time or take on another operator until he has healed. Take care." Morpheus moved to leave, his face expressing the worry he was experiencing over the health of his two oldest crewmembers.

Once they were alone, Neo turned his attention towards Trinity. As she looked up into his face, she saw the sadness written across it and instantly became worried herself.

"What's wrong?"

Neo shrugged as he moved slightly away from the bed. Arriving at the foot of the bed, he placed his hands on the metal end, resting his weight. "I just can't stop thinking that all of this is my fault."

"Neo, you can't blame yourself for Tank's choices. Nor can you blame yourself for my current state of well-being. You chose to trust that Tank would make the right choices. It's not your fault, you trusted him, as you always do. Day in, day out, you put your life in his hands. What else would you expect? As for me, my choices led up to certain injuries, and the one that Jones gave me because of you wasn't your fault. You didn't know that he would shoot me just because you moved." Trinity allowed her comfort to seep into her voice, relaxing Neo.

"He seems to have found my weakness." Neo murmured.

"Me? In the Matrix?" Trinity scoffed at the idea until Neo lifted his eyes to meet hers and nodded. "Really? Oh God, Neo. You can't let that happen. Just because I get hurt doesn't mean that you can forget what your own mission is. You have got to stay focused at all times in there."

"What if I can't? My mind will, but my heart doesn't." Neo shrugged, moving closer towards the head of the bed.

"You have to. Just remember that it's your mind in there, not your body." Trinity reasoned, watching him steadily as he inched forward until he sat on the edge of the bed, next to her arm.

Neo slowly interlaced his fingers with hers, his uncertainty still flowing in his words. "I put my heart into what I do, Trinity. My heart's a part of me in there. It's not that easy to just switch off my emotions."

"You have to learn to. Who you are in the Matrix is a completely different person from who you are outside of it. You have to learn the difference, and you have to learn soon. Put it this way, you are split into two people, and each one only exists in one place. All you need to do is learn how to distinguish one from the other."

"How can I distinguish them?" Neo asked, pushing a stray strand of hair out of Trinity's face.

"I don't know. Each one of us acts differently when we enter. I don't usually let any weaknesses be expressed and I don't let my caring for the other fighters get in the way of either their job or mine. That could slow me down one second and I or the entire group could be killed because of it. You can't let anything but what you need to do be on your mind when you are inside the Matrix. It's the only way you will survive."

"So basically become a machine, except you just hide your emotions instead of not having any at all." Neo surmised, his eyes searching Trinity's for agreement.

"Basically, but hide them well. Once an agent knows what makes you tick, they will lovingly exploit it until you have been eliminated."

Neo nodded before changing the subject. "What did they say about you?"

"They as in doctors?" Off of Neo's nod, Trinity continued. "I'll be out of here in five days. I'm pissed."

"About which part?" Neo cocked his head to one side in question.

"When you are told you have to stay in the hospital, it's pretty much an unspoken statement that you are to be kept in Zion until they decide you can leave, instead of when you must leave, such as when your ship leaves. No offense to the 'last human city' or anything, but I tend to get itchy after three days here."

"Why? You're saving this place."

"I have lived on a hovercraft for fifteen years, and only visited Zion for a few days at a time, a couple of months at a time. The only bad part about being here is that even though we are the last free humans, some of the Zionists still look down upon the pod-born. It has something to do with us not being normally born and they think they are better than us, but it's only a small group of people. Not nearly enough to make a dent in Zion's council, but the fact that there are people who are like that bother me all the same."

"Well, we may be the last free humans, Trinity, but we're still only human. We all have flaws and opinions, you can't keep some people from thinking differently about you, even if you are the reason they're alive." Neo reasoned, choosing his words with caution.

"I know, it just bothers me that the fact that I have plugs and they don't is the reason they would despise me. I mean, come on, can't they find a better reason to not like me? Shouldn't be too hard." Trinity smiled at her argument before watching Neo lift her arm and kiss the plug on her forearm and then the one on her bicep.

As he moved over her body, he allowed his lips to come dangerously close to where the top of her shirt began before speaking. His eyes flicked up to meet her surprised ones as he spoke. "I like your plugs. They make you more special because it shows that we actually fought and were freed from a controlling entity. I think that's more special than being born normally."

"I know, but..." Trinity was about to continue before Neo interrupted her.

"Do I need to prove my point further?" His hand slid up her side to the top of her shirt and slowly pulled it down to reveal the plugs above her breasts. As his lips came dangerously close to kissing the right one, Neo could hear Trinity's quietly ragged breath. The sudden sound of someone loudly clearing their throat caused Neo to jump from Trinity just moments before his lips would've touched metal and skin.

"Time for lunch. Neo, you can bring food from the mess hall back for the two of you." The nurse smiled knowingly at the embarrassed pair. "I'll try to give you warning the next time someone cares to enter here."

Neo turned to Trinity whose only reply as to if he could leave was a nod. Exiting with the nurse, Neo cast one last glance into the room before the door shut behind him.

"Can you tell me how to get to the mess hall from here?" Neo asked the nurse.

"I'm going there myself, I can show you." The nurse smiled up at him as she began her walk down the hall.


	21. Restrictions lifted

"You were acting quite different earlier." Trinity stated after she and Neo were part way through their meal.

"What do you mean?" Neo looked up from his bowl, a question in his eyes.

"When you were kissing my plugs. It was different from how you usually are around me."

"Is that a bad thing?" Neo placed his bowl on the table so he could focus on what Trinity was saying.

"No. I was just wondering, why the difference?"

Neo shrugged slightly before answering. "I don't know. I guess I feel that I know you well enough to say and doing anything to you. Within your agreement of course." Neo allowed a smirk to creep across his face as he finished.

"Oh I think my agreement is a given in almost any situation." Trinity smiled softly in return. "Look at us, we're actually being playful."

"Definitely has a perk." Neo mused.

"What's that?"

"Your smile." Neo jumped from the bed as Trinity attempted to hit him in the arm at his answer, obviously not wanting a mushy conversation. "Okay, I get it, romance is unwanted. Can I sit on the bed again without worrying about being attacked?"

Trinity allowed a smile to flash across her face before gesturing him over. As he sat back down on the bed, Trinity pulled him closer. Repositioning himself, Neo moved his whole body onto the bed to sit next to her. They both knew that they could start another conversation, but for the moment, they were both quite content being in the others' presence.

* * *

"Well Trinity, today is day five. You can leave." The nurse, whose name Neo found out to be Midnight, informed her early in the morning. "I'll just go get you your boots and you can go on your merry way, unless you want to wait for Neo that is."

"No, I told him to stay at our place last night. He needed a proper bed to sleep in, not a fifth of mine here. I'll just go surprise him." Trinity replied as she pulled clean socks onto her feet.

Each bruise and cut had healed, minus her cheek, which was just a scratch now. Once her boot had been put on her foot, Trinity swung her legs off of the bed and tenderly placed her left foot on the floor before placing all of her weight on it as she stood up. Midnight walked over and handed her the boots before watching her slip her feet into them. Bucking each boot up, Trinity cast a last glance at Midnight before exiting the room. Trinity left the hospital with relative ease and only encountered problems in the more crowded sections of Zion as she made her way to the closest lift. When she got to one and entered it, Trinity quickly pressed the button for the floor that she resided on with Neo, almost willing the lift to move faster.

Making her way towards their room, Trinity came across a few worshippers and had quite an adventure getting around all of the gifts left at their door. Opening it, Trinity slipped in and pushed the door shut before moving slowly forward in the darkness. Taking a break in the chair beside the door, Trinity took off her boots before making the final few limps to the bed. Neo was sound asleep and didn't stir until Trinity had sat down on the bed. Trinity gazed down at his naked chest before meeting his sleepy face.

"Morning."

"Oh my God, I should've stayed overnight. I didn't want you to come back alone." Neo sat up suddenly.

"Neo, how many times must I tell you that I can take care of myself? Besides, I wanted to surprise you. It _has_ been about seven weeks since we were completely free from all forms of work. Tell me you haven't forgotten." Neo's eyebrows shot up at the look she gave him. When each moment that he saw but could not touch was pure torture? How could he forget?

"What can't I touch?" Neo asked suddenly, his eyes fixed on Trinity's.

"No limits."

"Seriously?"

Trinity cocked her head to one side. "Seriously."

"Good." Neo allowed a smile to spread across his face.

Snaking his arm around her waist, Neo pulled her closer. Trinity lifted a hand gingerly to his face, pulling his lips to hers tenderly. His hand slid up her back before gripping the base of her neck as the kiss's fervor increased. Neo's hands slid down to her hips before tightening their hold and lifting her over him. Trinity pushed Neo down as his hands slid under the hem of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head. Tossing it across the room, Neo's lips shifted up to her neck, gently sucking, and definitely getting the reaction he wanted. Arching at the attention, Trinity kissed his temple and continued down the side of his face until claiming his lips her own.

Trinity smiled against Neo's mouth as she felt his fingers dancing down to the top of her pants. Boots weren't a problem, seeing as her shoes were dumped on the floor, and Neo's were beside the bed. Feeling Neo's hands sliding along her bare hips, pushing her pants further down, Trinity aided him in his effort and pushed her pants down further until she could wriggle out of them. Her lips dipped down to his throat where she decided to return the favor of a love bite while her hands ventured down to Neo's pants. His hands gripped her back tightly before sliding down to her lower back and finally slipping off to finish getting his pants off.

Rolling over, Neo entered Trinity in a swift motion, causing her to gasp in surprise. He paused above her, his breath ragged, his eyes speaking volumes, watching her for a moment before continuing. One hand slid under her neck, holding her to him while the other moved from place to place on her body. Trinity felt a fire burning beneath her skin from his caresses due to her body being starved of his for so long. Settling into the passion driven rhythm Neo was creating from rocking, Trinity gripped his back tightly while the other held his side. She had seen the multicolored bruises on his abdomen- the only reminder of his beating inside the Matrix, and felt him tense slightly when she touched them, causing her to settle for his side.

Their hunger for each other was equally matched as the passion began to reach its pinnacle. Trinity felt as if a supernova was exploding inside of her, she could see the flashes behind her eyes and wanted nothing more than to experience it. Neo's movements began to slow until he just decided to collapse atop her. Lowering his head down, Trinity gently kissed his forehead before he placed his head in the curves of her neck. His arms slowly spread further out, allowing his body to increasingly press harder against her instead of all at once. Upon kissing her neck lightly, Neo slid off of her.

Pulling her body with him, Neo felt Trinity curve her spine into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her stomach. Looking upon each other's skin, they could see the sweat glistening, cooling them from the heat their bodies had just recently generated. Trinity could feel sleep pushing it's way in even though she had just slept soundly the night before and succumbed to the warm slumber quickly.

* * *

"All right Hunter, Welcome to your first day of class. Today, we are going to work on strengthening your muscles." Hunter's instructor informed her. "There is much more to this war than just uploading everything into your brain in the blink of an eye. Muscles do not become strong that way. You need to strengthen them. Today we have a very special guest with us to show you proper form in working out."

Hunter looked up at her instructor from her position on the floor. She had been stretching her legs when he began talking. At the information that someone was coming in, her head turned up to look into the older man's eyes.

"Who?"

"His name is Ghost, and he moves like one inside the Matrix. We would have had Trinity come here to help you since she knows practically everything there is to build up in a female soldier's body, but since she is injured, she will merely watch, as will Neo. Ghost is a longtime friend of hers, you can trust him. Ah, here he comes now."

Hunter turned her head in the direction her instructor was looking to see a decently tall man with a mustache and goatee striding towards them. He was wearing a pair of gray cotton pants and a black undershirt, his feet bare. Once he reached them, he bowed slightly.

"Master."

"Ghost. Nice to see you." The instructor bowed in return. "Do you know where Trinity is? I thought she would be here when you arrived."

"She was just released from the hospital this morning. I am assuming she went back to meet up with Neo." Ghost rationalized.

"Ah yes, that may make her late presuming...never mind, let's begin shall we?"

* * *

"Shit. We were supposed to be down in the Academy gym by now." Trinity slowly sat up, shaking the last bits of sleep from her mind. "Neo, come on."

Neo sat up slowly, blinking his eyes several times. As he turned to follow her out of bed, Neo watched her reach for her pants. Slipping off the bed, Neo moved quickly across the room to get her shirt. He suppressed a smile when he saw her eyes upon his naked form before handing her the shirt and going off in search of his own clothes. A few minutes later Trinity placed most of her weight on her right foot as Neo returned the favor she had once exerted on him by putting her left boot on for her.

* * *

"Ahhh, they have arrived. Neo, Trinity, come, Ghost has been helping Hunter with her legs. I was hoping one or both of you would help her with her arms."

"Master, how are you today?" Trinity moved swiftly across the floor, Neo keeping pace with her.

"I'm in decent health, thank you. How are you?" The instructor eyed Trinity, a warm smile on his face.

"Better, thank you. Ghost, how have you been?" Trinity ticked her gaze to the man behind the instructor.

"As well as this world allows. Neo." Ghost replied before nodding in recognition of Neo.

"Ghost." Neo nodded back before his eyes fell to the girl beside him. "Hunter, how are you?"

Hunter ran a hand over her prickly head before replying. "Good, you?"

"All right, thanks. So, what do you want us to do?" Neo flicked his eyes back to the instructor.

"You must change into more appropriate clothing first. I think Ghost can show you where you can find some extra clothes. Trinity, you are going to rest that foot of yours over there- and no arguments about it just being a limp." The instructor pointed to a padded cushion not far from where Ghost had been working Hunter out.

The men walked off as Trinity moved to sit down. Hunter wandered over to her and sat down in front of her.

"Keep your legs out straight, you'll cramp up otherwise." Trinity immediately coached.

Hunter stuck her legs out before looking over at Trinity. "How long has Neo been free?"

"Three and a half months." Trinity watched as the younger girl rubbed her scalp self-consciously. "Don't worry, it'll grow back. Neo was just as bald as you are not too long ago, look at him now."

The two women lapsed into silence until Neo and Ghost reappeared. Neo was wearing dark gray cotton pants and his regular undershirt. Upon seeing Trinity's arched eyebrow at his choice of attire, Neo shrugged his shoulders.

"No more shirts that fit me nicely."

"In other words, they were all smalls for boys." Ghost added, thus saving Neo from a later admonishment. "Come Hunter."

Hunter stood slowly and followed the pair over to a set of bars. Looking from them to the men, she arched an eyebrow in question.

"Pull ups of a different kind." Ghost explained. "Grip the bar with both hands and pull up with your head in front of the bar. Neo will demonstrate."

"I will?" Neo looked from Ghost to the instructor who merely nodded before leaving the group to their exercises. "All right."

Moving forward, Neo gripped the bar and slowly pulled his body up into the position Ghost had explained. He felt Trinity's eyes searing into his back and relished in it. Lowering himself, Neo relaxed his muscles and turned to face Ghost and Hunter. Catching the girl's face a moment before she adverted her gaze, Neo looked up to Trinity. _She was right._

Backing away, Neo watched as Hunter went into two reps of five, a small amount, but then again, she had to build her muscles up. Neo's had built up by working on the Neb and during spare time when he was last in Zion. He had discovered the Academy's gym and had worked out for quite some time before returning to Trinity's room. He was still slim and in some eyes frail, but his spirit was strong, and that seemed to be good enough for Morpheus. Moving towards Trinity, Neo squatted down next to her.

Whispering quietly, Neo voiced his earlier thoughts. "You were right, she does like me."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"She's fifteen for crying out loud. I don't know what the hell to do and she won't willingly admit it, you know that. Maybe it'll blow over when we are away." Neo replied.

"Yes, but what are _you_ going to do about it?" Neo saw the gleam in Trinity's eyes and could only smile.

Not turning to look, Neo whispered back, "Is she looking?"

Trinity subtlety ticked her gaze to the younger girl. "Right...now."

Neo leaned in and closed his lips over hers. Trinity knew that it wasn't very kind to either Hunter or Ghost to be doing this, but Neo quickly erased all thoughts from her mind. Sliding his lips gently over hers, he nipped her bottom lip to let her know that more would come later. Pulling away, Neo straightened up and turned back around to find Ghost and Hunter doing curl ups. Trinity watched in amusement as the hour ticked by, Ghost and Neo doing various upper body workouts. Hunter watched and would copy them both, trying her best at it. Ghost calmly corrected her while Neo would coach her into trying again, something she did so readily.

When all was done, Neo and Ghost retreated to the male showers while Hunter went towards the female showers. Trinity looked longingly at the pull up bar while waiting and finally decided to go over to it. Stripping herself of her long sleeved shirt, Trinity placed her shirt on the floor next to the bar. Reaching up, Trinity pulled her body up until her chin was just over the bar and proceeded to hold herself there, counting silently to thirty. Lowering herself, Trinity would take a thirty-second breather before pulling herself up again. She didn't notice either Hunter or Ghost exit. Ghost quickly ushered Hunter out upon seeing Neo's gaze settle on Trinity's flexed back, covered only by her black undershirt.

Neo padded over, his spiky hair sticking out everywhere, his boots and shirts in his hands. Dropping the articles of clothing to the floor, Neo moved silently behind Trinity who had just pulled herself up for another thirty seconds. Neo lifted his hands up to her bare waist, sliding them along the skin, feeling her tense. Gripping her tighter, Neo moved so that his chest was against her legs.

"I've got you." Neo stated calmly.

Trinity released her grip and allowed Neo to slowly lower her to the floor. Breathing slowly through her mouth, Trinity tried to regain her breath from her workout. Neo bent down and picked up her shirt, handing it to her when she turned to face him. As Trinity adjusted her weight distribution on her feet, the door opened, revealing a very surprised instructor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you all would have left. Is this a bad time?" the instructor was obviously flustered.

"No, we were just on our way out." Trinity replied, watching Neo pull on his shirts and boots before moving towards the door. "Good bye for now Master. Take care."

"You too Trinity."


	22. No news

Zee and Cas sat rather tensely outside of Tank's operating room. Neither left for the bathroom or food at the same time, always wanting someone there in case of any news. Both looked up from their seats to see Morpheus approaching. When he got to them, his eyes expressed the worry that was twisting their stomachs in knots.

"Any news?"

"None. They've been in there day in, day out. They won't let us in. All they've told us is that he's stable." Zee informed him.

"That's not fair. Leaving us out here, not even knowing what condition he's in other than 'stable.'" Cas continued, her face dark.

"Did Link come by?" Morpheus inquired, moving towards the window.

"He's sleeping right now. The Gloria had a bad run inside the Matrix and the whole crew needed rest. He came straight here from the dock and didn't leave until I forced him to." Zee replied.

"That sounds familiar." Morpheus mused with a smile.

"Hmm? Oh, Trinity and Neo?" Zee asked, gaining a nod from Morpheus. "I'm glad they have each other, they fit."

"Yes, I agree." Morpheus mused.

* * *

"So this is the main gathering place?" Neo mused, his eyes gazing about the carved out cave.

Walking in further, the dim lights cast a warm glow throughout the place, masking the faces of anyone who sat in the shadows. The place, actually much larger than it originally appeared, was populated with chairs, tables and people. Crews mixed and played cards, Zionists chatted, and joined the games, but no one sat alone. It was an unspoken rule that no one ever sat alone.

Trinity brought Neo towards the back of the bar, Zion form of restaurant, hole in the wall, whatever you would like to call it, where the only light was from candles that made the darkness dance along the walls. Sitting down, she quickly turned to watch Neo sit down next to her. They sat in silence for a moment before Trinity's eyes flicked up to Neo's and then to the door. Neo turned in question to see Sparks and Ghost walk in. Sparks saw them huddled in the back and tapped Ghost on the shoulder before moving towards them.

"Hey guys, how are you doing?" Sparks smiled down at the pair as he came closer before pulling a chair out to sit.

"Fine, you?" Neo's eyes moved from Sparks to Ghost, who had pulled another chair up and was sitting down.

"Great! Nothing like a sentinel trying to take a bite out of my chunky ass to make me love being alive."

"He's just lucky he got me out in time to throw the EMP." Ghost murmured. "I'll get us something to eat and drink."

Trinity watched as he left before focusing back on the obviously animated operator. "What happened?"

"Ghost didn't tell you two while he was training Hunter?" Sparks looked from one face to the next, watching as both shook their heads. "Well, we had a bit of excitement on our last mission before coming home to the warm arms of Deadbolt."

"That's always a welcoming sight." Trinity mused.

"Well, he kind of only came over to whisk Niobe away, but hey, what do you expect?" Sparks shrugged.

Neo arched an eyebrow in question before deciding not to ask while Trinity asked Sparks to continue his story. Neo moved in and out of the conversation, occasionally commenting, but for the most part, he stayed silent. Ghost and Sparks' adventure had something to do with new agents, a firing squad, and an exit from hell that was three feet wide and thirty feet up. After the second drink and several bites of food resembling bread, Neo had tuned out the story, his attention all but focused on the electric heat pulsing between his palm and Trinity's beneath the table. Squeezing her hand gently, only Neo noticed her lips part and her body shudder ever so slightly.

"Well, we better go, Morpheus wanted us to come by Tank's before lights out." Trinity began to stand, Ghost's hand reaching out to balance her on her way up.

"I'm just glad we ran into you two. It's such a refreshing sight from our little Buddha man over here who probably meditates his way to the john. Anyway, see you later. Oh and pass along our hellos to Morpheus." Sparks waved as they began to leave.

"I hope Tank survives his operation." Ghost added, his eyes moving to Neo's, catching the smoldering gaze that had been aimed at Trinity before he blinked it away.

Ghost turned to watch them exit before deciding, against his better judgment, to look at Sparks.

"Something tells me they aren't going to make it to the hospital." Sparks wiggled his eyebrows at Ghost.

"You may be right."

* * *

The moment Neo and Trinity had exited; Trinity limped her way around the corner and into the shadows, Neo quickly following her. Bracing herself against the rock wall, Trinity felt Neo's hands encircle her waist, lifting her up to allow her legs to wrap around his hips. Pushing her harder into the wall, Neo's lips hungrily found hers, tasting her. His lips traveled down her jaw, finding his way down her neck to her collarbone. The drinks they had had only intensified the sensations and heightened the desire.

Trinity let out a soft whimper, causing Neo to return to her lips, tasting the liquid on them as his tongue traced her top lip. He moaned softly when she bit down gently on his lower lip, sucking it into her mouth. His hands tightly gripped her back, holding her up, fingers splayed wide, flexing against her shirt. Her hands were making a fiery dance along his shoulders and on the back of his head. The painful pleasure of her fingers brushing against his head plug caused Neo to shiver.

"Whoa! I seem to have chosen the wrong way to walk home." Sparks broke in, causing the pair to stop mid kiss and break apart. Sparks took in the swollen lips, the flushed faces, the ragged breaths and decided that maybe he should've just walked on by instead of openly embarrassing them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Neo turned his head back to look into Trinity's eyes. He watched as she subtly rebuilt the stoic expression that had resided on her face earlier, but she couldn't hide the passion and desire in her eyes, and quickly decided that she didn't care._ For crying out loud, I have my legs wrapped around Neo's waist, does it really matter what Sparks sees in my eyes? _Sparks looked around him for a moment, before deciding to speak again.

"I think I'll just go…stare at those wonderful…ummm…oh look, I can see Ghost! Ghost! I'm coming with ya!" Sparks quickly jogged off around the corner where Trinity and Neo could hear the tired reply of the quieter man:

"Don't you have somewhere to sleep other than outside my doorstep?"

"Yeah, but I've decided that the sights around that corner could kill me, so I'm just going to take the long way home."

As their footsteps faded away, Neo slowly lowered Trinity to the ground. Gripping the wall briefly for balance, she moved out from the shadows, Neo following behind her. Arriving at the closest lift, it opened within moments and they entered. Neo watched in amusement as Trinity hit with frustration, the floor level where Tank was in the hospital before switching his gaze to her face. There was an electricity running through them from the drinks and from their short rendezvous that made the distance between them almost unbearable. Before either could voice said electricity, the lift came to a halt. Minutes later, they arrived outside Tank's door where Cas, Link, Zee and Morpheus were all either sitting or standing near it.

"Anything?" Trinity asked, looking from face to face.

"They just began another operation." Cas informed them quietly.

Trinity nodded before catching Morpheus' eye. Looking at Neo for a moment, she strode past the group, following Morpheus. Once they were out of hearing distance, Trinity voiced her question.

"Do they know if he'll live?"

"Honestly, they won't tell us. By now they should've, so my take is that they are desperately trying to save him, and it isn't going too well."

"So, even if he survives, how long until he'll be given clearance to operate another ship?" Trinity turned to glance down towards the room before looking back at Morpheus.

"Months, and we don't have months. We are going to need a new operator, and soon. I'm only planning on staying here as long as you are on crutches. If I had a larger crew, and Neo wasn't with us, I would've left you here to heal, but we don't and he wouldn't let me, so we stay. Right now, I just pray that he lives out another day, never mind heals completely." Trinity could hear the pain in his words. "Well, I doubt that they'll finish operating any time before early morning, why don't you go get some sleep? As I've come to learn, you have been very active around here, despite the orders to rest as much as possible."

"I hate sitting around doing nothing. I just grow restless and end up taking my frustration out on a piece of valuable equipment."

"Like Neo?" Morpheus allowed a small smile to spread across his face even as Trinity shot him a look before turning and moving back towards the group without a word.

Neo saw the look she gave him before biding the others a goodnight and following her out.


	23. A dark day

"You know, life could be so much more interesting if you loosened up a bit." Sparks commented, looking at Ghost, who was meditating.

"If I loosened up a bit, I would turn into you and my life's quest is _not_ to turn into you." Ghost murmured back, taking a breath before opening his eyes up to the operator.

"What's wrong with me? I've got the looks, the body, not to meant the gift of the gab." Sparks smirked.

"I think you were just given vocal chords and then our Higher Power decided even that was too much before finding out He couldn't take them back." Ghost stood up slowly, watching in amusement as Sparks' eyes widened at the insult.

"Switching topics…what do you think about Trinity and Neo as an item? A rather hot item too, if I may say so." Sparks stood from his seat on the bed, watching Ghost's reaction.

"I try not to. She was prophesized to love him, thus my opinion about it lies with whatever she believes."

"Come on, Buddha man! You cannot tell me that you honestly never thought about it."

"Sparks, I think you should go home to the place where normal people sleep." Ghost turned to look at his friend.

"Sure, kick me out, what are friends for? There will come a day, Ghost, when you'll wake up and realize just what I truly mean to you." Sparks replied, smirking.

"And what is that exactly?"

"I will be the man who will inherit your boots and personal processing unit." Sparks finished, laughing as he closed the door.

Once he was alone, Ghost turned to look at a small piece of metal, much like a trophy, that stood near his candle stand. Walking to it, he sighed, reading the inscription. _"To Ghost. From Trinity. We finally kicked the Master's ass, now look how much free time I have in lock down to write this…see you when I get out."_ Ghost smiled at the memory. It was their first year free and they had wreaked havoc at the Academy, only to be caught and punished equally. Moving towards the bed, Ghost took a calming breath before blowing out the candles and falling asleep.

* * *

Morpheus, Zee, Link and Cas stayed outside Tank's room for almost the entire two weeks that Trinity was to be on crutches. Then, one morning that's utter normality meshed into the memory of others just like it, turned their world upside down. Fatigue fought with everyone until a doctor finally exited the room to stand before them. Wiping his hands dry on a rag, his eyes expressed a form of surrender.

"We have been trying for over two weeks to stop the spread of gangrene, but somehow, I'm assuming its because he allowed it to get to the decay level that it has, we can't. Every new operation seemed to work out in the beginning, but would ultimately fail. And now we can't do anymore. We have tried everything, and his body is resisting it all. I came out here to open the option for Zee to give the command for us to turn off his respirator." The doctor's eyes glimmered; tears that wanted to be shed, but wouldn't be allowed to fall.

Zee took a large gulp of air before burying her head in her hands. Cas moved closer to her, pulling her into her arms, tears streaming silently down her face. Rocking her soothingly, Cas looked up at the doctor and then Morpheus. Link sat on the arm of the tattered couch, embracing Zee gently. They stayed like this for a few minutes before Zee breathed slowly and nodded at the doctor. Standing, she followed him into the room, the others trailing quietly behind. The doctor turned to Zee first.

"As Zee, sister of Tank, I agree to this." Finishing, she let out a large gulp, trying to hold back the tears for the moment. The doctor turned to Morpheus.

"Morpheus, captain of Tank onboard the Nebuchadnezzar, I agree to this." It wasn't up to him since he wasn't family, but he did have the right to give permission.

The doctor nodded once before moving towards the bed. Link pulled Zee tightly to his chest while Cas held herself tightly. Morpheus could do nothing but stare, tears in his eyes. The quiet beeping in the room slowed, and finally came to a stop, causing Zee to cry out, clutching Link. A day that began as normal as the others' before it, just took a dark turn.

* * *

Trinity rose from Neo's gentle embrace, pulling a blanket around her naked form as she limped to answer the door. Wrapping the thin fabric tighter around her shoulders, Trinity twisted the handle, opening the door just enough to see who was outside. Surprised at seeing Morpheus, Trinity was about to ask why the sudden appearance, but he cut her off.

"They turned off Tank's respirator this morning. Zee wants the ceremony to be tomorrow."

Trinity's eyes widened before feeling the tears begin to form. She didn't hide her face as the first few fell silently. Nodding, she watched him turn and leave before calling out to him.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to find a new operator." Morpheus replied, a hitch in his voice at the last word.

Trinity shut the door once Morpheus turned back around. Pressing her back to the door, she slid down it, crying softly. Neo awoke to the sound of her quiet sobs, immediately jumping out of the bed, pulling another blanket with him. Running to the door, Neo sat down next to her, pulling her against his chest. He could feel the hot tears dampening his chest, and could only wonder what was causing her such sadness.

After waiting silently for a few minutes, Neo kissed her temple before whispering quietly, "What's wrong?"

Trinity took a shaky breath, trying to loosen the tight grip on her heart. Neo's hand trailed up and down her spine, soothing her even more as she tried to calm down.

"Tank died today. This morning. Morpheus, and I am assuming Zee, agreed to have the respirator unhooked." Trinity looked up into Neo's eyes, seeing the tears already making his eyes glassy.

"Trin…" Neo trailed off, no words would fit. None would suffice. _God, does the death ever stop?_

* * *

Morpheus lay on his bed later that day, trying to get some rest but finding that it only wanted to elude him. A knock at the door was exactly what his mind needed to tell him to stay awake. Sighing heavily, Morpheus lifted himself from the bed and padded to the door. Opening it, Morpheus felt a pang of worry for Cas or Zee at seeing Link before him.

Shifting from one foot to other, Link looked Morpheus in the eye. "Five months ago, I made a promise to Dozer before he left us for the last time. He was afraid that the search for the One could harm your ship, and the people living on it. He wasn't wrong. He made me promise that if both he and Tank were killed, that I take Tank's place. I'm standing here before you, asking if I may become the next operator of the Nebuchadnezzar."

Morpheus stood silently for a moment before motioning Link inside. Shutting the door, Morpheus turned to look at the younger man.

"I have been an operator for fourteen years, I am quite capable."

"What about the Novalis?" Morpheus asked gently.

"I already spoke with Captain Tirant. He has given his agreement if you would like me to join. I wasn't the only operator on that ship anyway. For the past five months I have been training Ether to be an operator and he will take my place." Link explained.

"We'll be leaving in four days. I'll see you tomorrow night at the ceremony. Welcome to the Nebuchadnezzar." Morpheus shook Link's hand before placing a hand on the operator's arm. Link smiled tightly before leaving, glad he could fulfill Dozer's promise, but sad knowing what Zee's reaction would be.

* * *

"You're going to what? Link, I just lost both of my brothers to that very ship and now you're telling me that you're joining it? Are you crazy?" Zee's eyes were blazing with pain and anger upon receiving the new information.

"I'm sorry baby, I made a promise and I intend to keep it." Link sat helplessly on the bed, watching his wife pace back and forth in front of him.

"No, no, no, no…" Zee murmured before slumping to the ground, shaking in fury and sadness.

Link rose and crouched down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, only to be taken aback when she ripped herself from his grasp.

"Go away. I just…need to be alone." Link stood, pain etched across his face. "Link, go."

Link bit his lip before complying, exiting swiftly, leaving his wife to cry against the bed.

* * *

The ceremony was quiet save for the soft cries from Zee and Cas. Trinity had let out her sadness in Neo's arms and now stood calm faced between her two comrades. The ashes were given to Zee, who held them tightly against her breast, shaking even as she walked out. Link walked beside her, an arm wrapped around her shoulders. After they had left, Morpheus turned to Neo and Trinity.

"Link will be our new operator."

"Is that such a good decision?" Trinity asked, looking at the archway the man in question had just exited.

"He told me that he had made a promise to Dozer before we left to unplug Neo. Now he's fulfilling it. I'm afraid I didn't have much choice in the matter." Morpheus replied tiredly.

"He seems to be a good man, I don't see anything wrong with it. Unless you count him being married to Zee." Neo spoke up, shrugging.

"She won't be happy, I know Zee." Trinity murmured, much to Morpheus's agreement. "When will we be leaving?"

Morpheus took a moment to look at her face before answering. "Three days. I hope you can hold out until then. When we leave, I'll give you an hour in the dojo and training sims, how does that sound?"

Trinity allowed the corners of her mouth to twitch before nodding. Morpheus watched silently as she turned and left, Neo beside her.

* * *

"Trinity, can I ask you something?" Neo began once they had returned to their room. Stripping himself of his shirt and boots, Neo sat down on the bed.

Trinity slipped out of her sandals, her dress flowing around her, nodding as she sat down opposite him. Placing her legs beside his, Trinity looked across the bed at him as he began.

"How can you live in a war where the ones that you love can be ripped from you in the blink of an eye and never stop hoping? Never falter?"

"You can't. There were many days before we ever found you that I questioned my future with you, wondered whether the cold in my bones would ever leave. I've taken bullets from faltering, we all do. No one is perfect; we all question what we have been told at one time or another. It's the only reason we're here at all. Morpheus told me one time how he would sit in his cabin; just thinking over all the ways the prophecy could go wrong. When he found you, he never worried ever again, but I did. Every night I did." Trinity replied slowly, thinking over her words.

"You didn't always believe in the prophecy?" Neo asked, incredulous.

"Not too hard to believe actually. I remember one night where I cried myself to sleep, thinking that there was no hope of a peaceful end to this war. I had just watched two of my crewmates die in the Matrix that day and later fended off sentinels in the gun turrets. I felt cold, dead, empty. That night I realized just how fragile the human body is. How a single act or choice can change everything in your world. I cried because I knew that the moment I that I would meet the One, my world would change, and I feared that. I actually tried not to believe in you when we found you. I didn't want to get my hopes up and yet, you changed my life without even trying, or knowing."

"What'd I do?" Neo asked quietly, his eyes locked on Trinity's.

"Remember when you told me that you weren't the One and that you were going to save Morpheus? Remember how I told you to go to hell?"

"That's still a fresh memory in my mind." Neo smiled softly.

"I knew then, because you were so damned determined. You saw a way to survive when we saw suicide. That's how I knew, even though you had just told me that you were 'just another guy.' When you tried to tell me not to go in, you changed me. My only way to react to that was to tell you off. Kind of habit." Trinity smiled gently, watching Neo.

"Do you ever wish that so many people didn't have to die?"

"It's war." Trinity robotically replied.

"That's not what I asked." Neo shot back, angling his head forward slightly.

Trinity sighed. "Every day, but that doesn't seem to stop the deaths, does it? You never get used to it, but it becomes understood. You learn to deal with it."

"Promise me that you won't leave me." Neo suddenly asked.

Trinity looked up from the bed sheets where her eyes had been focused to look at Neo's eyes. Moving forward, Trinity sat down next to him, still facing him.

"I'm not going anywhere without you." Trinity whispered before kissing him softly. Neo pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. Breaking away for a breath, Trinity opened her eyes to look at Neo. "We're in this together. Remember?"


	24. New crew additions

"Hey Link, welcome aboard." Neo shook Link's hand, smiling gently.

"Glad to be here. Hey Trinity."

"Link." Trinity nodded before continuing further into the ship, Neo trailing behind her.

"Wow, this ship is so much bigger than the Gloria." Link looked around, his eyes wide.

"Let me show you around so you don't get too lost." Morpheus closed the ramp, moving Link forward. Walking deeper into the ship, Morpheus guided Link towards the consoles and plug in chairs. "This is the main deck. The consoles and plug-in chairs are here. Down that corridor and off to the left is the med bay. Up one level on the ladder will bring you to the cockpit and down the ladder one level will bring you to the sleeping quarters. Come." Morpheus motioned for Link to follow him.

Climbing down, Morpheus moved down the corridor. Stopping at an unmarked door, he opened it, revealing an empty room.

"This was Dozer's room. You can stay here. If you continue on down the hall, you will come to the mess hall. Don't get lost." Morpheus smiled gently before turning to leave.

"Wait, sir, is there anything you need me to do?" Link asked, dropping his bag onto the bed.

"No, not right now. I'm going to get us out of here, and then everyone will be meeting in the core. Get yourself situated, have a look around. I do caution you on one thing, though."

"What's that sir?" Link inquired.

Morpheus gestured for Link to come out into the hall.

"Always knock before entering that room." Morpheus pointed to Trinity and Neo' cabin, several doors down on the opposite side of the hall. "Do that, and you will be able to live out the day."

"Trinity's quarters?" Link asked, smirking.

"Trinity and Neo's quarters." Morpheus corrected, watching Link's eyes widen before understanding. "Go and get yourself settled."

"Thank you sir."

* * *

"Hello, who is this?" Neo leaned forward in the operator's chair, squinting his eyes at a specific code. Leaning back in realization, Neo pressed a button, "Morpheus, you might want to come check this out."

Neo didn't have to wait long before his captain climbed up the ladder, entering the core.

"What is it?" Morpheus asked, obviously woken from sleep.

"I'm sorry to wake you, but I thought you might find this interesting." Neo pressed a few monitors, pulling up exactly what he was looking at. "Some kid is randomly typing questions into his computer."

"Hack in, answer back. This boy obviously will be in danger soon, he's too aware."

"All right." Neo typed quickly into the computer, hacking through the kid's firewalls. Morpheus watched silently as Neo began a cryptic conversation with the boy. When the boy asked "_Am I alone?_" Neo pulled out, not wanting to answer that question just yet. Turning to look up at Morpheus, Neo arched an eyebrow in question.

"Get him out soon. Tomorrow at the earliest."

* * *

"Get out. Get out now." The kid heard Neo speak into his phone. Pausing only a moment to think about it, he jumped across desks and climbed out a window into the halls.

Neo was already inside the Matrix, flying quickly to where the boy was. Trinity and Morpheus were on either side of Link at the consoles, watching the scene play out before them. The kid was quite a good skateboarder, and was putting his skills to good use. Trinity only let out a frustrated sigh when they watched the boy let go, falling to his death. Neo's code was so close, but didn't reach him in time, though that wasn't what upset the viewers. The moment the kid's code hit the ground, it disappeared, much like a coppertop's when they are unplugged.

"What the hell?" Link typed quickly, his fingers flying across the board before pressing a button. "Operator. No I have no clue what happened. He's not there? As in totally gone? Yeah, hold on. Sir?" Link looked up at Morpheus. "Neo wants to know if you can get a lock on this kid in the real world. Find where his pod is."

Morpheus's eyes flicked to Trinity's before back to Link's. "Yes. Start a search and get Neo an exit."

"Right on it."

* * *

"I've never actually witnessed self-substantiation before." Trinity stood over the kid's body, Neo on the other side.

The boy opened his eyes, regaining consciousness for a moment. "Neo, you saved me."

"You saved yourself." Neo replied, looking down at the kid as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Trinity smiled softly as Neo sat at the consoles, hacking into the kid's computer one last time. The boy had left his computer on from the first contact Neo had made with him. The question, "_Am I alone?_" still had the cursor blinking next to it. Neo pressed enter.

_Not anymore._

* * *

"Hey Kid, how are you feeling today?" Link asked upon seeing the boy's eyes open.

"Tired."

"Understandable. You got yourself a name?"

"Not one I care to keep. Kid sounds fine for now." The boy tried to sit up, but found it only made his head hurt more and lay back down.

"Kid it is. Well, so I don't startle you, today you become a human pincushion."

"What does that mean?" Kid closed his eyes, confused.

"You can't move too well can you? It's because you've never used your muscles before. We need to rebuild them." Link explained.

"Oh."

"Get some rest." Link placed his hand upon Kid's forehead even as he fell back asleep.

* * *

"Is this one going to stay with us?" Neo asked Morpheus during breakfast.

"No. He's too young." Morpheus shook his head.

"That didn't seem to stop you from keeping Mouse on." Trinity argued.

"Mouse could hack programs and design sims better than anyone I've ever seen. That's why I kept him. Besides, I'm getting the feeling he won't leave Neo alone." Morpheus sighed, explaining in such a way as to show that he'd done it many times before.

"I get that too, but he's only a kid." Neo reasoned.

"That seems to be his name now." Link added, entering the mess hall. "He told me that he didn't want to keep his Matrix name and said 'Kid' was fine."

"All right. I'm assuming the needles have been placed in him?" Morpheus asked.

"Yes sir."

"Good, I'd better go down there now. Trinity, when you are done, feel free to enter the dojo. I'm sure you want to get out some frustrations from being on crutches for two weeks." Morpheus smiled before leaving.

"Want to be my partner?" Trinity asked, looking at Neo.

"When wouldn't I?" Neo asked back, smirking before standing to rinse his dish out.

* * *

"Link, I'm warning you now, if you see something that isn't fighting break out between us, kindly find a pipeline to stare at." Trinity spoke, her eyes looking up at the ceiling.

"Got it." Link replied, his voice bouncing around the dojo. "Just don't kill each other."

Neo smirked at the comment before getting into a defensive stance, reminding himself not to use his powers. Trinity came forward, dropping her shoulder in a fake before slamming a fist into Neo's side. Neo hopped back at the pain before blocking her next fake. Twisting her around, Neo tripped her up and knocked her to the ground. One thing about fighting Trinity, Neo had learned, was that if he got a big ego from beating her, she would quickly punch him, deflating his ego. A lesson that kept him from getting cocky.

Trinity quickly kicked out, tripping Neo up before flipping herself up. Neo rolled away and flipped over, propelling himself into a standing position. As he turned towards Trinity, he let out a punch. Trinity ducked it and elbowed him in the ribs before rolling out from him. He watched as she ran towards the wall and flipped sideways and backwards off of it. Sending a foot into Neo's head, Trinity landed in a crouch, almost catlike. Neo shook his head before moving towards her.

Deflecting each punch and fake sent towards him, Neo pushed down her arms before grabbing her shoulders and pushing himself up and over her, missing her sweep. As he landed, Neo kicked her in the back, sending Trinity stumbling forward into a roll before popping back up, facing him. Neo charged Trinity, only to be sent flying by a roundhouse kick. He could already feel his cheek swelling as he stood up, readying himself to meet another onslaught from her.

As her arm flashed out, Neo blocked it away, sending an uppercut into her jaw. Trinity backed up a step and landed a solid kick to Neo's thigh as he moved forward. Stumbling, Neo practically collapsed into Trinity, the pain from the kick sending tingles shooting through his leg. Groaning, Neo flipped his head up, again hitting Trinity in the jaw and backed up a step. Trinity rubbed her sore chin, her eyes watering from the double hit. Blinking back the tears of pain, Trinity faked into his arms and landed an elbow to his jaw.

"Now you know how I feel." Trinity bit out, hearing him groan as he stumbled backwards.

Neo shook his head, watching Trinity as she again moved closer. Grabbing her punching arm, Neo locked his right leg around hers and slammed her to the floor, collapsing on top of her. Trinity felt his head drop next to hers, and tensed when his breathe tickled her ear. Lifting his head up so he could look into her eyes, Neo saw fury and unbridled passion glaring back at him.

"That was good. I'm going to have quite a few bruises."

"My jaw is going to need ice thanks to you." Trinity replied hotly.

"I'm sorry." Neo murmured, his eyes already expressing guilt. Lowering his head, Neo placed a gentle trail of kisses along her jaw before dipping further and kissing her neck.

Trinity gasped softly, allowing her hands to find their way to his back, gripping him tightly. Scrunching her head into her chest, Trinity brought Neo's lips up to hers, kissing him feverishly. Pulling back after a moment to breathe, Trinity called out to Link.

"Get us out of here."

They were greeted with the white of the Construct before opening their eyes to the real world. Neo groaned quietly after Link had taken the needle from his head. Lifting a hand to his cheek, Neo felt the tender bruise forming there. As he stood up, he could feel the bruises along his side and arms and the last one Trinity had given him on his jaw. Turning to look at Trinity, he again felt a pang of guilt. Most of her jaw was turning black and blue and she was bent slightly from the kick he'd landed on her spine. The feeling was mutual as he limped beside her from the kick she'd slammed into his thigh. Link watched as the bruised pair exited, most likely to their room until Morpheus needed them.

* * *

Neo dumped his boots next to Trinity's as he pulled off his shirt and lay down on her. Kissing her gently, Neo slid his hand down her side, feeling her tense when he moved over a bruise, before reaching the hem of her shirt and lifting it up. Pulling it off in one swift movement, Neo lowered his head to the plugs above her breasts, and moved upwards. Trinity's hands danced up and down his back, igniting rivers of fire along the way. Brushing her lips gently against his, Trinity felt him flick out his tongue and quickly followed suit. Tracing his bottom lip with her tongue, Trinity felt him lift his lips slightly before pulling her top lip into his mouth. Sighing at the range of sensations, Trinity unintentionally shifted herself against Neo, who let out a startled gasp.

The fiery rendezvous was interrupted unfortunately when Morpheus rapped on the door. He had heard the sounds from the other side, but needed them out in the core as soon as possible and couldn't wait until they had finished. Morpheus heard the sounds of movement before Neo called out.

"Yeah?"

"I need you two in the core."

"We'll be right down." Trinity replied, slightly short of breath, much to Morpheus's amusement. Nodding to himself, he left, knowing they would hear his footfalls.


	25. A french fry with a side of sparring

"What is it?" Trinity asked upon climbing into the core, Neo right behind her.

Morpheus turned from the consoles to look at her. "The Caduceus needs some help inside the Matrix. They were on a standard retrieval mission, but the agents found them and they are now cornered in a warehouse."

"What are the numbers?" Neo asked, moving towards his chair.

"Three against fifteen and three agents. New ones." Morpheus replied.

Neo looked up at his captain for a moment in surprise before nodding and waiting to feel the needle slide into his skull. A moment later, he was greeted with the Construct and wasted no time getting ready. Once inside the Matrix, he watched Trinity kick start her motorcycle and drive off before bending down to fly. Lifting up near the clouds, Neo flew above Trinity, arriving on the roof of the warehouse almost a minute earlier. Breaking the lock, Neo slipped in the stairwell and climbed down several flights before silently moving out onto a gangplank above the crew of the Caduceus. Neo tilted his head to one side, hearing Trinity enter on the other gangplank across from him.

Looking across at her, they locked eyes for a moment before they flipped over the edge of the walkways and landed deftly on the floor. Trinity immediately opened fire on a group of cops while Neo rolled out to begin a fight with three others. The Caduceus' crew could do nothing but stare in awe. Neo flipped around one cop, throwing him into a wall before sweeping his leg out around the other two. Once they stood back up, Neo sent one flying with a kick in his sternum and knocked out the other with a solid punch to his face.

Turning, Neo saw the last two men of the group Trinity had been attacking move around behind her. Before he could call out, Trinity spun around, a boot connecting with the first cop and continuing the spin in the other cop's face. Neo smiled as they both dropped to the floor. Trinity found Neo's gaze quickly and melted into the wall as the Caduceus' crew opened fire on the remaining cops. Within minutes, the only men left standing were the three agents. Neo slid out in front of the crew, leveling his gaze at the agents before Trinity gripped his arm, pulling him out. A quick call led them to a nearby pay phone, where they exited safely.

"Thank you Morpheus, I'm glad you were close by to help." Ballard thanked the captain over the intercom from his ship.

"Anytime Ballard. Did you get what you went in for?"

"Yes, we were getting a coppertop out. If it weren't for Trinity and Neo, more than one person would be lying unconscious in the med bay. Thank you again." Ballard smiled as he shut off the link.

"Good work you two." Morpheus nodded at Neo and Trinity before turning his head, as if listening to something. Suddenly, he looked over at Trinity. "Trinity, can you come with me to the engine room?"

Trinity nodded before leaving Neo, following her captain down the ladder. Once there, she winced at the harsh grinding from the engines before being handed a few tools. Looking down at them, Trinity followed Morpheus deeper into the ship. She immediately began to hear why Morpheus had brought her down and nodded before sitting to wait for the engines to stop so she could fix the problem. Morpheus left to shut down the ship, leaving Trinity to look around to see if there were any other malfunctions. A few moments later, Trinity saw Neo drop down the ladder. He moved silently towards her, also wincing at the sound before all went silent. Trinity felt a ringing in her ears from the sudden quiet and immediately lay on her back before wriggling under the machinery in question.

"Need some help?" Neo asked.

"Just hand me the tools when I ask for them." Trinity replied, her voice slightly muffled.

"All right." Neo sat down, his body brushing her legs as he situated himself against one of the pieces of machinery.

Neo watched as Trinity's hand popped out, feeling for a tool that was just out of her reach. Neo picked it up and placed it in her hand, hearing her quiet 'thank you' as her hand disappeared. Neo sat silently for a few more minutes until her heard a 'clank' and then a quiet hissing.

"Oh shit." Trinity murmured before attempting to wriggle out. "Neo, help me. Fucking engines."

Neo smiled at her comment as he wrapped his hands around her waist and tugged. Trinity writhed slightly in his grasp, eventually causing her body to loosen and slip out. Coughing at the smell coming from the pipe, Trinity stood up, looking at Neo before running to the ladder, climbing quickly. When she arrived in the cockpit, Morpheus turned around in question.

"You're already done?"

"No. I broke a gas line. Shut down the heat, I don't want to explode or be burned down there." Trinity explained.

"You better fix it fast or we'll freeze." Morpheus leaned over and pressed a few buttons before the quiet humming that Neo hadn't even noticed ceased. "Go on."

Trinity nodded and turned, practically pressing Neo into the wall so she could pass. Climbing back down, Trinity sighed, before almost laughing at hearing Link.

"Holy shit! It's freezing!"

Neo stopped his descent to explain before continuing on down behind Trinity. When she got back to where she had originally been, Neo grabbed her wrist, forcing her to turn and face him.

"Are you sure you want to get stuck in there again?"

"Do you see anyone on this ship with narrower shoulders?" Trinity shot back, watching Neo in silence for a moment before lying down and slipping back in. "Give me the torch."

Neo looked up in surprise before placing it onto her palm. He grabbed the mask, waiting to see her hand come out again and placed it in it when it did. A few seconds later, Neo heard the muffled sounds of Trinity putting the mask on before the torch flicked on. Silence reigned for some time before Trinity pushed the mask back out and told Neo to pull out the torch. Grabbing several other tools, Neo handed them to her, where they disappeared into the darkness where she lay. Minutes past, where barely a sound above a breath was heard.

"Trinity, can you even see what you're doing?" Neo suddenly asked. He watched her body jump at the sudden question in surprise.

"Yeah, the lights from above come down behind all of this so I can see." She replied distractedly. "All right, I think we're done. Go tell Morpheus to switch on the heat from the intercom."

Neo rose and walked the few feet to the intercom, flicking the switch. "Morpheus, turn on the heat."

A moment later, Trinity cried out. "Neo shut it off!"

Neo quickly told Morpheus to turn it off, and sighed once Trinity's painful gasp stopped. He moved back to the lower half of her body that stuck out from under the machinery. His hand fell to her thigh once he sat down.

"Not fixed?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Trinity shot sarcastically back. "Dammit, the fucking thing burned my hand. I need the torch and mask again, I must have missed a hole."

Neo silently handed the said tools to her, watching them disappear again. The hum of the torch was heard for a few moments before being shut off and handed to Neo again.

"All right, let's try this again."

"Trinity, I don't want to pull you out and have a French fry in front of me." Neo replied.

"Do you want to freeze to death, have our engines not work, and have sentinels eat us without a fight?" Trinity shot back, growing short tempered.

"Fine." Neo stood and moved to the intercom. "Try it again Morpheus."

Hearing her satisfied sigh, Neo told him that it was working. Moving back over to Trinity, Neo placed a knee on either side of her legs, his arms again encircling her waist. Pulling her out, Trinity noticed the position she was in before looking up at Neo. His eyes had already fallen to her hand, worry etched across his features.

"Come on, let's get you to the med bay." Neo helped her up, grabbing most of the tools. Trinity grabbed the rest and put them back before they went up the ladder.

Arriving in the core, Link saw the pair move towards the med bay before telling Morpheus to turn the engines back on from his headset. Neo gathered a cloth and dampened it before moving over to where Trinity sat on another table. Wrapping it gently around her hand, Neo watched her flinch before taking it from him. Determined, Neo pulled her arm back to him and tied the cloth together so she didn't have to hold it in place.

"Thanks." Trinity looked up into his face, smiling through the pain.

"Later on, we'll put some ointment on it, okay?" Neo replied.

Trinity nodded before turning to look at Kid. "He's a little older than Hunter."

"How can you tell?" Neo asked, moving next to her.

"He just looks it." Trinity answered simply before moving around the table and leaving.

* * *

"That was so cool!" Kid exclaimed after his first set of combat training. "Is that all?"

"Trust me when I say not even close. We've just begun." Link replied with a smirk.

"Great!"

Neo climbed down into the core from the cockpit as Link shoved another disk into the drive and began uploading it. Smiling gently, Neo leaned over the operator's chair.

"I'm assuming he's enjoying this." Neo remarked.

"Completely, but I can only give him so much each day. You were an exception." Link turned to look at him before the upload finished. "All right Kid, one more training program and that's it for today."

"Are you kidding? This is amazing!" Kid argued enthusiastically from his chair.

"Trust me Kid, you'll have a killer headache tomorrow if you don't take it easy." Neo cautioned, moving around the monitors.

"Heya Neo. Wanna fight me?"

Neo laughed at the question. "No, and for two reasons. One, you don't have nearly enough knowledge to spar with anyone right now, and two, you don't want to fight me. You should fight either Trinity or Morpheus."

"Why, what's wrong with you?" Kid asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Nothing Kid. You just don't want to fight me." Neo patted him on the shoulder before moving back to Link as the last upload began for the day.

"He's going to want to fight you for forever, Neo. When he's sparred one of the others, spar with him. I have a feeling he'll keep pestering you." Link advised as Neo left.

"We'll see." Neo reasoned, climbing down the ladder.

* * *

"You've got to forget everything you've ever been brought up to believe. Let your mind go." Trinity ordered Kid before launching into an offensive attack.

Kid blocked one punch but missed two others and fell backwards. Springing to his feet, he moved forward, his first kick being shoved away but landing a chop into her side. Trinity flicked her knee up into his chin, and then pushed it out, shoving him away with the heel of her foot. Moving forward, Trinity ducked down and rolled, sticking her leg out to trip him. Kid jumped back before moving forward to flip over her, his leg colliding with her shoulder as he did. Landing on the ground, Kid continued running until he came to the wooden supports and ran up it, freeing his mind to a degree.

As he flipped over Trinity, she watched, waiting until he had landed before slamming her foot into his chest, sending him flying. Every newbie started out like that. Neo did, she had, Apoc and Switch had. Everyone ran up the wooden support to flip over. Everyone. Morpheus had told her not to hold back right before she plugged in, and she didn't intend to. Kid hit the wall, denting it, before collapsing onto the floor, taking in gulps of air.

"How did I beat you?" Trinity asked, moving forward.

Kid lifted himself to rest on his knees. Shaking his head, he replied quietly. "You're way too fast. I can't keep up. Plus you're super strong, I feel like I've been plowed over."

"In this place, a programmed reality, do you really think the muscles of my real body have anything to do with my performance? This is all in your mind, Kid. Nothing to do with your body." Kid could only stare at her as she backed up. "Again."

Standing, Kid stuck out his left leg in front of him, his hands in a defensive position. Trinity moved forward, having her punches being blocked several times before finally slamming her forearms into his ribcage four times. Kid pushed her away and backed up himself, before moving towards her again. Kicks to the legs were blocked, feet slammed down to the floor as both got into a rhythm.

At the monitors, Neo stood tensely, his eyes flicking to Trinity's still form at every hit. Upon seeing her lulling Kid into a block, parry, block, block, parry movement, he had to smile. Link looked up at him.

"What's funny?"

"Trinity."

"Why do you say that?" Morpheus inquired, breaking his gaze from the spar.

"She's lulling him into a rhythm. The moment he becomes used to the rhythm, she'll flatten him." Neo explained with a shrug.

"She's done that to you in the dojo?" Link asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Not in the dojo, but she has done it to me." Neo smiled again before focusing back on the screens.

Morpheus glanced down at Link, whose mouth was open in an 'O', before looking back at the fight. Trinity suddenly faked a parry, hooked her right leg around Kid's right leg, hit him in the chest, and tripped him to the floor, ending the spar. Indeed, Neo had been right. Link pressed his headset closer to his ear before nodding to a command from Trinity and bringing them out of the dojo. Neo and Morpheus moved around the consoles, going to the separate parties. Placing a hand on Trinity's shoulder, Neo carefully pulled the needle out before looking down at her face, smiling softly.

"Oww." Kid, sat up, his hand immediately flying to his chest, pressing against it gently. "You're tough."

Trinity stood and smiled tightly. "If you think I'm tough, then I wouldn't fight Neo."

"Well, do you have a recording of one of Neo's spars?" Kid asked, rubbing his sore jaw.

"Yeah, Trinity and Neo just sparred a few days ago. It's on…" Link moved around, looking through some of the disks. "Here it is. Why don't you go get some lunch, some ice and come visit me here in about thirty minutes?"

"All right." Kid nodded before following Neo and Trinity out.


	26. Press Play and move to Reloaded

Trinity climbed up into the core, intent on stopping the recording of her spar with Neo before Kid saw it get out of hand, which for some reason, it always seemed to whenever she sparred with Neo. _Must be because the pent up emotions that I let out in a spar run along the same lines as the ones Neo provokes from me during our more intimate moments._ Trinity moved up behind Kid, watching him watch the screens before watching herself. She saw Neo land the first punch to her jaw, and had to smile at her kick to his leg. Kid paused it and turned around.

"You guys spar well together."

"Yeah, well, there's usually others things that mix into our spars." Trinity commented, shaking her head.

"Like what?" _Still so innocent. He has no idea what I'm talking about._

"Press play, you'll see." Trinity sighed, figuring the best way for him to understand was to see.

A few moments passed in silence as the two figures on the screens fell to the floor. Trinity could see Neo's back rising and falling as he tried to regain his breath. She heard Kid's intake of breath when Neo's digital mouth lowered to hers. Trinity leaned forward and shut it off, popping the disk out. Clasping it in her hand, Trinity ripped open the disk, ruining it.

"Is that what you meant?" Kid asked, turning to look at her in shock.

"Did you see a tea party?" Kid shook his head. "Then yes."

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Neo ran into the core, fear lacing every word.

"Trinity took Kid into the Matrix to explain some things to him. I allow her to do it from time to time with the newbies. We didn't do it with you because we wanted you to believe as quickly as possible." Morpheus explained shortly. "But something went wrong."

"I'm sorry, I thought she was right behind me! She shoved me towards the phone!" Kid apologized, the tears of fear ready to fall.

"Morpheus, what's going on?" Neo placed a hand on his captain's shoulder, turning him around.

"We don't know exactly. The agents showed up and her code disappeared. Her vital stats are normal, nothing odd about them." Morpheus continued.

"So the agents took her. Link, load me up." Neo moved around the consoles, pressing buttons on his chair.

Link was about to protest when Trinity's heart monitor suddenly began to jump erratically. Trauma was obviously occurring and Neo read from the stats that she was getting hurt. _Why do they always have to hurt her to get to me?_ Neo leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before moving back to his chair. Morpheus pushed the needle into his head, and Neo felt his mind being transported into the Matrix.

Hanging up the ringing phone, Neo moved out into the streets and pushed himself from the ground. Flying up high, Neo started to read the coding, searching frantically. Just as he felt that he would never find her, Neo saw the coding of the new agents with Trinity's moving near them. Flying down, Neo landed on the roof silently. Running to the door, Neo kicked it in and ran down the stairs. Hearing sounds of a scuffle, Neo pushed open the closest door and was met with one of the agents flying into him, unconscious.

Neo landed on the ground and quickly pushed the agent off of him. Standing back up, Neo blinked, seeing Trinity trying to hold her own with twin pistols. Moving forward, Neo did a roundhouse kick into the back of the closest agent's head, sending him flying as Trinity emptied her clips, hitting nothing but air at the last agent. Pulling his gun from his pocket, the agent trained it at Trinity. Already diving out of the way, she landed behind a crate as the bullets rained down.

She had glimpsed Neo behind the agents, and only hoped he'd finish this one off. A round of bullets was heard aimed in a different direction before she heard the sizzle of the agent leaving a dead host. Standing slowly, Trinity saw Neo leaning against another crate, his shaded eyes looking at her. As she moved closer to him, Trinity saw the reason why he was leaning.

Blood. It dripped down his hand, changing the pale skin to a deep crimson. Running the last few steps to him, Trinity pulled his hand away from his shoulder where he was bleeding.

"Why didn't you stop it?" Trinity asked, pulling out his phone and dialing Link.

"I was getting ready to kick him while he was still shooting at you. Suddenly, he turned and fired at me. I was only able to stop the rest. Not the first." Neo replied, taking deep, calming breaths.

Trinity nodded without even speaking into the phone before closing it and placing it in her pocket. Pulling Neo with her, Trinity exited the building. Neo moaned quietly as they rounded a corner. Stopping and backing up, Trinity felt Neo bump into her. Ignoring the feeling of heat that shot through her body from the contact, she turned to look him in the face, a look that spoke volumes: _Nowhere to hide and we're about to end up in a bad situation_. Without a word, they took their glasses off. Trinity backed into the wall, Neo moving up against her. Pressing his lips to hers, Neo tried to keep his ears open for the footsteps of trouble. Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Trinity subtly hid his wound.

"Hey, you shouldn't be here." One cop said.

Neo pulled from Trinity, his eyes glazed slightly.

"I'm sorry, we're kind of…non sober…" Neo trailed off as Trinity let out a giggle. "And well, you know, non soberness plus very kissable lips…tends to lead to…"

"All right, all right. Go on. Get out of here. Don't drive." The cop replied, his face softening.

As the pair moved off, staggering slightly, Neo could hear the second cop comment to the first:

"Looks like they won't remember tonight."

Once they had disappeared around the corner, the façade was dropped and Neo ran side by side with Trinity. Upon slamming open the door of a closed hardware store, a ringing telephone shattered the silence surrounding them.

* * *

"Why the hell did you do that instead of knocking them out?" Link asked once Trinity and Neo were both safely out. "I mean, come on Trinity, you flatten four cops without any help, and now, you decide to make out with Neo instead of fighting? What gives?"

"Link-" Trinity sighed. Her body felt like one big bruise from the beating she had taken from the three agents and Neo had been shot in the shoulder, she _really_ didn't have the energy to take down two cops. Sure, she could've, but they were just security, not looking for them or anything, "Sometimes, the innocents don't need to be knocked out just because they could make my trip to the exit longer. Don't you ever get tired of watching me kill one mind after another?"

"Yeah." Link agreed, lowering his gaze as Neo groaned and sat up. Morpheus placed ice wrapped in a cloth on his bruised shoulder as Trinity walked over.

"Why don't the two of you go get some rest? It's been a long day. Kid, come with me, you're watching over the Matrix tonight." Morpheus ordered gently.

Trinity and Neo left while Kid stared at the screens. "How the hell do you read this?"

* * *

"God this hurts. Probably as much as the bruises from when Smith shot me." Neo remarked, painfully exhaling as he sat on the bed. Trinity kneeled down and took his boots off.

"That's what bullets do." Trinity murmured taking her own off.

A few moments passed in silence before Neo spoke again. "Trinity, can I ask you something?"

"Always." Trinity replied softly, looking him in the face.

Neo shifted slightly so he could gain a better look at her before stating his question. "How many people have you killed?"

Trinity shifted slightly at the question, slightly unnerved. Thinking for a moment, she finally answered. "Too many to count."

"Do you ever grow tired of the war?"

"Some days I just get tired of fighting. I get tired of seeing carnage splayed before me all the time, and it hurts after a while, knowing that I'm the cause of it all. But now I know that soon I won't hurt anymore."

"What do you say that?" Neo inquired, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

"Because I have you. You give so many people hope that you aren't even aware of it. I see them worshipping you and I sometimes hope that you understand why they do that, and you do. You understand them, and me, unlike anyone I have ever met before in my entire life. And the most amazing thing about that is that you understand not because of your prophecy or abilities, but because you are Neo."

"I had you to help me understand." Neo smiled softly, pulling her closer with his good arm.

"Damn romantic." Trinity grinned.

"I'm sorry, kind of seeped in. Seems to happen often because of you."

"Why because of me?" Trinity pulled back, feigning shock.

"Because you're you?" Neo asked in return, pulling her back to him.

"God help us if the One is mushy."

"Oh yeah, the human race is doomed."

* * *

This is the whole story uploaded and edited. I am very proud of it. As of right now, I am almost done editing "Breaking the Rules" and I will be starting on "A Moment of Understanding" soon. Also: I am writing a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fic focused on Willow and Tara between Seasons 4 and 5. Interested? 


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